Dismantled
by flyingwhirlwinds
Summary: Somewhere in the middle of going to the hospital because of severe injuries and pestering him, she fell in love. HibarixOC
1. Explosive

"_Don't be scared_

_I've done this before_

_Show me your teeth_

_Show me your teeth"_

Chapter 1: Explosive

The silence irritated her, and she had half the mind to scream just to ease the tension.

The teacher wrote hurriedly on the chalk board, producing an algebraic equation twice the size of what he would always give. The students were rigid, to the point where no one dared move. Outside the window, the birds had stopped chirping and there was no wind to rustle the leaves of the trees. It was as if they were deliberately muting themselves for _him_. As if terrified.

_ Which was weird because, really, when you're Hibari Kyouya, you really do have the power to scare the crap out of everyone. _

It was always like this. Everyday he would always patrol around the school, not even caring to come to his own classes. In a way, he was a hypocrite, punishing students for cutting classes when he _himself_ did so regularly. Nobody had the nerve to say that to him, though, because before they could even utter more than three words, they were already on the floor, bleeding from being 'bitten to death'. He was like that- always letting his tonfas do the talking. There was no objecting. It was because of him that class II-A was so... dull.

The classroom was the one closest to the Reception Room, where the Disciplinary Committee Chairman spent most of his time in school. When he wasn't enforcing the actual _discipline_, of course. He had been disturbed in his sleep one too many times from the usual classroom noise that he had come in the room to severely punish whoever woke him from his slumber. In a few seconds, the loud teen had fallen to the floor in a useless heap. And nobody could forget _that_ episode- especially the student who was now in the hospital because of the incident.

No one in the class said anything of it, in fact, no one said a word at all. And just like that, a spell of eternal silence fell over the class, and each one was too scared to speak out, to go against the deadly prefect.

But one student felt the certain need to break this unspoken rule- _Nishimura Misaki_.

The young girl was, to put it in blunt terms, bored. No one wanted to hold a conversation with her, scared they'll end up like Matsuda Satoshi, the boy Hibari almost put in a coma. Perhaps it was her fault that the prefect had had his fill of noise- after all, her voice was always the loudest, the one who always stood out. Maybe Satoshi was the unfortunate one to end Hibari's short patience, the unlucky boy who had recieved the prefect's blows.

But she could care less for that. She had enjoyed the class up until that incident, and things went downhill for her sanity after it. After all, who wouldn't go crazy not talking to anyone for _that_ long? She could remember that vague feeling of wanting to do something- _anything_, just to break out of this boring routine. Even jumping off the school roof appealed to her just for something to do- but she wasn't suicidal, so she brushed the urge off.

And so it was more out of stupidity that she crossed paths with Hibari Kyouya.

* * *

"This is stupid." She sighed to herself. Day thirty-two of class II-A's muteness. She was tired of saying next to nothing from morning to afternoon, and honestly, her throat was getting dry. She pulled her knee-length socks higher, out of habit as she settled in her seat. Her voice was the only thing that echoed in the classroom, and her classmates whipped their heads to her, horrified expressions on their faces.

_Che. As if Hibari Kyouya'll wake up with THAT comment. You're too paranoid, people._

She banged her head on the desk with a slight _thunk_. Oh, how she wished she could transfer classes (and lower herself a grade). Class I-C seemed so lively- partly because most of her friends were there. _Dame-Tsuna, Kyoko, Hana, Hayato, and Takeshi_. Sometimes Haru would come to the class as well, if only to see Tsuna. Lambo and I-pin would drop by at times, but they'd always cause explosions and irritation. And then there's the last baby, Reborn. She couldn't exactly say she trusted him, but she did find him cute. Except when he had a gun.

A timid knock on the classroom door broke the tense atmosphere. The door slid open, and the teacher entered, heading straight for the blackboard. She could see that there was a scar on his forehead, but everyone knew where _that_ came from; what else but Hibari Kyouya's tonfa? The poor teacher had attempted to save Satoshi from the prefect's wrath, but was hit unconscious, his head bleeding, in his effort.

All because the prefect had been awoken from his slumber.

* * *

P.E. She hated it, yes, but there was a small part of her that thanked whoever invented physical education. After all, it was the only time they were away from the classroom- and more importantly, the sleeping Hibari Kyouya. The gym was filled with voices, and for once, she felt happy. She fidgeted in the short P.E. shorts, feeling conscious as some girls stared at her arms and legs. They were playing volleyball, and she was excused, not knowing if the reason was for medical precautions or just that she sucked at sports.

The popular girls bubbled with happiness at the opportunity of gossiping- they couldn't do that in class anymore. Misaki scowled at them, her hazel eyes narrowing as she saw them steal a glance at her before laughing obnoxiously. _These girls_, she rolled her eyes, _when they don't know something they resort to gossiping about it._

"Hey, Misa-chan!"

She looked up from her spot and smiled instantly. "Hi, Mai-chan!"

The girl plopped down beside her, her raven hair fluttering as she turned to Misaki excitedly."Did you hear?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What exactly would I hear in such a freakingly silent classroom?" she deadpanned, and Asakura Mai giggled, not the least bit fazed by her friend Misaki's comment.

"Sato-kun is going to be released from the hospital today!" ignoring her bestfriend's expression, she smiled to herself. Asakura was Matsuda Satoshi's girlfriend, and the fact that she'd be able to see him again in class pleased her. Misaki eyed the girl beside her.

"You know, sometimes I envy your lovelife." she pouted, and Asakura grinned. "You're so lucky when it comes to men."

"Ahahaha~ you're the only one who says that, dear." Asakura laughed. "And who wouldn't want to date you? I mean, I like your hair-" she motioned to Misaki's almost-blonde brown strands, framing her face lightly, "and your skin is so smooth and white! Plus, you're very pretty!" Asakura smiled at this, her jade eyes twinkling.

"You forgot the part where my arms and my legs aren't easy on the eyes." she frowned, her eyes trailing over the limbs, which were bare because her P.E. Teacher did not approve of her arm warmers and long socks. Deep scars covered the the skin, leaving only a few inches of skin with no traces of past wounds, immediately visible and can only be covered by knee-high socks and arm warmers. Most people stared at it, disturbed. It was because of this that she became so conscious of it, and she couldn't help but cover it to draw the stares away.

"Bah. Who cares about your legs? Your face is up there-" Asakura touched her nose lightly, getting a smile from the other girl. "-and your skin is blindingly white, anyway. That's still to die for."

Misaki nodded, thankful that at least one of those girls was her friend. The teacher blew a whistle, and Asakura excused herself, going to the court for her turn to play. She watched her friend score point after point, once again feeling pathetic.

* * *

She coughed. "S-sorry. I haven't been able to speak since _forever_. What was your question again?"

The lunch bell had caused her to sprint out of the room, excited to see her friends and actually _talk. _They settled on the rooftop, eating in a circle. Yamamoto was eating sushi, and time to time, Misaki would snatch a piece from him. She had made bentos for all of them, containing a simple tempura dish.

"Idiot, Juudaime asked if you could help him with math." Gokudera had bonked her lightly on the head, and she stuck her tongue out at him, setting aside her bento. Apparently, being their senpai didn't matter to Gokudera. She didn't necessarily mind, even encouraging them to get rid of the -senpai suffix. It seemed appropriate to her, anyway.

"Bah, screw math." she laughed, and Yamamoto laughed with her. She looked at him and pouted. "Take-chan, if you would just put a little more effort in your studying you'd be a super genius. I envy you."

Tsuna almost cried, saying "I'm No-Good Tsuna, anyway~" he sounded dejected, and Misaki patted his head in sympathy, tousling the brown spikes.

"That's okay, Juudaime! I'll tutor you!" Gokudera's eyes brightened at the prospect of being useful to Tsuna, and Yamamoto piped out;

"Me too!"

"Shut up! I'll only help Juudaime!" Gokudera frowned, and Nishimura could see his nostrils flaring. She laughed, seeing Gokudera's eye twitch in annoyance.

"That's too bad. Ahahaha~" Yamamoto laughed, taking it all lightly and rubbing the back of his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gokudera yelled, and Yamamoto just laughed again.

"Nothing. Ahahaha~" Misaki giggled at their bickering- or one-sided argument, in her eyes.

"Baseball freak!"

Gokudera continued cursing and insulting Yamamoto, while the latter laughed it off, not very disturbed by it. She didn't think anything of it, coming to the conclusion that Gokudera liked Yamamoto more than he admitted, but didn't know how to express it like normal people do. Their voices filled the rooftop's otherwise empty atmosphere, and Misaki laughed at Tsuna's panicked expression.

"Ah! You two, don't fight!" Tsuna pleaded, his voice mixing in with Gokudera's yells of anger. It must have been a little too loud, for there was the sound of someone waking up and the clang of metal.

The four teens looked to where the sound was coming from. Two of the teens exclaimed in surprise.

"HIIEEEEE!" Tsuna wailed, his already messy hair standing up. His fear was apparent, and if she had noticed it, she would have laughed. But she was stuck in her own world.

"What the fudge?" Misaki stood up immediately, arms taking a defensive position in front of her face, fearing the worst. _He's here!_

"Hibari-senpai!" Yamamoto greeted, his cheerfulness doing nothing to break the tense atmosphere. "Wanna join us? Nishi-chan made some lunch~"

"You herbivores are crowding." He said simply, his tonfas suddenly appearing from nowhere. His face was blank, but one could see the satisfaction in his blue eyes at the sight of Tsuna's nervousness.

_I've got to know where he pulls them out from. Some kind of black hole? Or maybe an invisible cape?_ Misaki thought to herself, random thoughts taking over. _Hah~ I bet I can predict what he says next. _And, as if on auto-pilot, her mouth opened, saying the words she never heard others speak without getting beaten to a pulp by the prefect himself.

Her vision dimmed. Suddenly, her surroundings became black and white, and the only thing that had color was Hibari Kyouya's blue-grey eyes, staring cruelly at her friends. It was like some kind of action movie, the lead character confronting the villain and spitting in their face in the process. Not.

"And? Are you gonna bite us to death or something?" she stuck out her tongue for added effect, and Tsuna wailed;

"Misaki-chan! Don't!"

Immediately, Hibari's eyes met with hers. His mouth turned upwards slightly, amused and itching for a fight. _That_ woke her out of auto-pilot state. He seemed irritated, to say the least.

_Fuck. I don't wanna die yet!_ That single thought echoed in her mind and she inched backward, the wind blowing her hair about. Their eyes locked, and she could sense that he wasn't going to let the insult go.

"Herbivore." His lips curved upward, his teeth showing their blinding white, a semblance of a smile, but not the kind of smile where he was simply happy. No, it was a smile that yelled out to her, _Target sighted; Mission: Bite to death!_

_Shit. I've angered Hibari Kyouya. I'm gonna die! Goodbye, world~ I'm sorry, Otou-san, Okaa-san. I didn't get the chance to say goodbye. Sorry Ryuu-nii, I never got to tell you that your __girlfriend was perfect for you. Sorry Tsu-chan, Haya-chan, Take-chan, I never got to treat you to my favorite ramen shop. I'm sorry I never got a real boyfriend, too. Or my first kiss, or my first date-_

"Don't worry Juudaime! I'll protect you!" Gokudera whipped out his bombs, and for a minute, Misaki wondered if they were real or not, his voice waking her out of her thoughts. The next second, she knew the answer to her unanswered question.

_Smoke bombs!_

An explosion filled the rooftop, and a hand grabbed the back of her uniform, half-dragging her to the exit. She coughed, the wind knocked out of her as she struggled to see who was pulling her from the dust cloud. In the smoke, she could see the faint outline of the prefect and a fuzzy creature flying close to his head. Her mouth opened and she screamed, making Yamamoto wince as he dragged her down the stairs, hitting her shoulder on a wall in the process.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

* * *

:) I feel pathetic. LOL. Please review, eh? Tell me what you think. :3 Reviews are a writer's fuel. :))

(Oh, oh~ and guess what song I used at the beginning of this chapter. :3)


	2. Aftershocks

Warning. Slight Twilight bashing. If you squint really hard you'll see it. :3

_"I've been hypnotized_  
_ The city's your playground, _  
_ I watch you take a bite_  
_ At 5am roaming in the streets_  
_ Drunk all night"_

**Chapter 2: Aftershocks**

* * *

"What the freaking hell was that?"

Misaki coughed, trying to get the smoke out of her system as a newly-forming bruise in her shoulder clouded her mind with pain- she decided to visit the infirmary after this. Her question rang out between the four of them, and Tsuna wasn't sure what to answer.

They were at the stairwell farthest from the rooftop, and she wondered for a while how they got themselves there so fast. Tsuna looked a little panicked, but that was to be expected. Gokudera was bowing to him, apologizing all the way. He twitched when he heard her voice, whipping his head to see Misanagi with a horrified expression on her face.

"Shut up, woman! What if the Tenth was hurt?" Gokudera lit a cigarette and smoked it, irking Misanagi even more. "Why'd you even do that?"

She grunted. _Men and their mafia games. Well, I'm sorry for speaking my mind, for angering the already irked prefect, and for causing you to freaking use a smoke bomb. Yeah, it's all my fault. My shoulder freaking hurts, you dolt. I'm going to have to see that perverted doctor again._

"Gokudera-kun! Don't yell at Misaki-chan!" Tsuna shrieked, seeing the other teen whip out his weapons. "Put your dynamite out!"

_Funny how when it comes to Tsu-chan, Hayato-chan does just about anything to please him. Weird. Maybe he has a man crush on Tsu-chan? Nah. On Takeshi-chan maybe. Wait, why does he have dynamite? Where did he pull that from? The same rip in the time and space continuum that Hibari pulls his tonfas from?_

Gokudera lowered his hands, the fuse in his explosives dying as he put it away from sight. A scowl was etched unto his face, but she couldn't really remember if he ever had a different expression. "She doesn't even know..."

"Oi, Gokudera, don't be so angry at Misaki-chan. It was a reflex, right?" Yamamoto laughed like the near-death experience didn't just happen, and she resisted the urge to hit her head on a wall. _Jeez. We almost die and he's still laughing, thinking we're just playing hide-and-go-seek-the-herbivore with that darned prefect._

"Listen, I'm sorry, okay? I've been irritated at Hibari since the incident, and the comment just rolled off my tongue." She looked at Gokudera, and he huffed. "I'm really sorry, you dolt. It's hard enough for me to say it, don't make it harder than it is!" She pouted, and Tsuna put his hand on her shoulder, indicating that he was fine with it.

"It's okay, Misaki-chan. I'm used to getting into situations like this anyway." Tsuna smiled lightly, and his words echoed in her mind. _Used to? Just what kind of things do you do that get you into these situations?_ Yamamoto patted Gokudera's back as well, doing nothing to ease the bomber's irritation. She looked at Gokudera and poked his chest, stepping forward as she looked him in the eye.

"C'mon, Hayato-chan. Forgive me?" she smiled, and he grunted, bonking her head with an irritated expression on his face. "Ow~"

"Just don't do it again, idiot woman!" his hand still on her head, he patted it twice- rather roughly, but she understood- before turning to his beloved Tenth. She giggled, turning to Yamamoto.

"Yay! I'm off the hook!" she pranced around the baseball player, looking like she didn't just have an encounter with the devil personified a few minutes earlier. Or that her shoulder ached like hell. "Ne, Takeshi-chan, I want some sushi~"

He laughed, nodding his head. "I'll treat you tomorrow. How about-" he stopped speaking, hearing the warning bell signal that lunch was over. Tsuna and Gokudera turned to them, beckoning them to start walking back to their classroom. She turned to the opposite direction, heading to the infirmary as her insides squirmed.

* * *

"Erm... I think I have a dislocated-" she knocked on the clinic door, and as it slid open, was almost pinned down by the school 'nurse'. "Shamal-sensei, please don't glomp me. My shoulder hurts already, and-"

The man looked at her, a goofy grin on his face. "It's rare to have such pretty patients like you, Misaki-chan!" At this, she twitched. _Pedo. _"I'll treat you with-"

Misaki turned around, feeling a presence near her. True enough, Gokudera Bianchi was walking in the halls of Namimori-Middle, most likely looking for Reborn. When Shamal saw her, he immediately chased after the Italian woman, who was throwing poisonous dishes everywhere.

Misaki sighed. It had been hard to go to the infirmary seeing as the doctor was a pervert, yet she was willing to sacrifice that if the pain in her left shoulder would go away. But seeing as Shamal was busy at the moment, she stalked away, muttering about getting her shoulder popped by her brother.

* * *

Normally, she couldn't care less about being late. But the fact that Hibari Kyouya was probably on the look-out for them breaking any rules for an excuse to legally (as if it's any way legal) bite them to death made her a bit more lenient towards following the rules. She slammed open the door to her classroom and giggled at her teacher's shut-up-you-might-wake-Hibari expression before bowing low.

"Sorry for being late, I got a little bit caught up with the Head Prefect." immediately, her teacher's eyes widened and she nodded stiffly, beckoning at her to sit down quickly. _Say Head Prefect here and you can get away with almost anything. These people are so afraid of Hibari, it's kinda funny. Maybe I should really hang around Tsuna-chan and the others more so I'll get to irritate him even more~ Wait, what the hell am I thinking? He's going to kill me if I say even one word out of line. Bah. Let him try._

Twirling a pencil around her fingers, she looked at the blackboard, seeing the foreign letters next to the kanji. She read the sentences on the board, feeling rather peculiar as she translated them easily in her mind.

**I wanted to see him, for he was leaving. **

**They were gone, and I don't know where to find them. **

**They were her protectors.**

_Jeez, I'm getting the classic damsel-in-distress vibe from these words. I wonder where sensei got them. Probably that book about sparkly vampires that are so out of character. _She ignored the teacher's droning and focused on looking out the window, the sakura trees more or less deemed more important to look at. A fluffy yellow bird caught her attention, and she held out a finger for it to hop on to. It perched itself on her forefinger, and chirped silently. _What a cute bird! It's kind of silent, though. Maybe it gets why we're being so quiet in the classroom? Nah, a bird isn't that smart. _

It flew off, and she followed it with her eyes until her teacher's voice snapped her out of her reverie.

"Nishimura!" she half-whispered, half-growled. "Stop spacing out and translate this!" she pointed to a fairly hard sentence and smirked. The teacher felt a bit irritated that Misaki had come to class late, and was targeting her for that reason. Misaki cocked her head to the side, and read the sentence silently. It was old English, a bit tricky at first, but more or less easy for the language-oriented girl.

The teacher huffed. She wouldn't be able to translate it, no doubt. Heck, even she didn't get it right on her first try! But Misaki raised an eyebrow mockingly, her voice loud enough the shock her classmates into fear that Hibari might cause another incident again.

She winced when she stood up, the pain in her shoulder acting up again.

"**Wherefore art thou, Romeo?**"

Smirking at the teacher, she sat back down, feeling a bit defiant. _Let me be, sensei. Your period is the only time I can slack off and still get a good grade!_ A piece of crumpled paper landed on her desk silently, and she spread it out to read, "You okay, Misa-chan? I saw you wince when you stood up. Did Hibari hurt you or something?"

She felt two pairs of eyes staring at her back. She looked around, seeing Asakura's worried expression. She gave her friend a thumbs-up to indicate she hadn't been hurt by the prefect (the irritating pain in her shoulder nagged at her, but it wasn't caused by him, anyway). A sigh of relief escaped the lips of the girl, and Misaki's eyes trailed over the room to find that a familiar-looking baby was perched on the window, stroking his chameleon. His black fedora didn't fail to catch her eye as she realized who he was.

_What's Reborn-chan doing here?_

_

* * *

_

She picked up her bag and deposited her shoes in the locker, spotting the trio she had eaten lunch with earlier. Smiling, she waved, and Tsuna waved back as she made her way to them. Gokudera was flustered a bit, spewing off insults at the oblivious baseball player who was laughing his Yamamoto-laugh. Nothing unusual there.

"Hey, guys." she grinned, and Gokudera turned to her. "Going home?"

"Of course, you idiot woman! Where else are we going?" he bonked her head again, and she whimpered, immediately touching the sore spot he had hit again.

"Mou, Hayato-chan, you know I have zero pain-tolerance!" she pouted, tears flooding her eyes, and Yamamoto laughed again, the sound filling her ears. "If I get a crack on my skull or something, I know who to blame!"

"I thought you already had a crack in that empty head of yours, woman." Gokudera teased, and she half-frowned, half-smiled (which was kind of weird since she felt a bit offended but found the comment rather funny). Turning away from him, she faced the baseball star and Tsuna to say;

"Let's go home!"

The four teens passed the school gates, and Gokudera lit a cigarette. Misaki wrinkled her nose in disgust, inching away from the smoke. She knew inhaling it would probably cause lung cancer or something, so she settled for getting as far away as possible while still walking with her friends.

Funny how she always looked like she just hadn't been through getting brain hemorrhage from the bomber or an encounter with the prefect. She skipped ahead, and Tsuna looked at her small silhouette- her almost-blonde light brown hair flew about in the wind, her arm-warmers were as bright and contrasting with the school uniform as ever, and her bag bouncing as she took every step. He felt a warm feeling bubble in his stomach, finding the urge to protect his 'sister' like how he protected his own famiglia.

She turned towards them, running over to Yamamoto. She pulled on his sleeve, her insistent voice fading from his ears until he saw Yamamoto bend over and let her climb on his back, piggy-back style. Her right arm was holding on to the baseball player's neck as her left arm lay uselessly at her side. Gokudera, who was walking beside Tsuna, couldn't help but lose his scowling expression for a more serene and relaxed face. The sunset light set over Namimori, the different colors blending in the sky as the foursome trudged home. For a moment, Tsuna forgot about the Mafia, the Vongola, and the dying-will flame. He felt at peace, which was something only his 'sister' and other few could bring to him and his guardians. He broke out of his thoughts when he heard her shout loudly;

"Onwards, my trusty steed! We shall conquer the world!" she said in a haughty voice, and Yamamoto laughed in affirmation, setting into a run at her command. As he ran, she almost fell off his back, her left arm flailing a bit as she winced with every movement.

* * *

A/N: Wow. *u* You guys are awesome~ Thanks for the reviews. :3

(Oh, and the song for last chapter was Teeth by Lady Gaga. LOL. :3)

Twii-san: Thanks. :) KHR! is a great fandom, and I'm not just saying that. :))

Omgpink-san: Thanks for your critique. I'll be taking that to mind. :D But OC's are pretty fun to write, even though they ARE kind of hard. :)

Xenocanaan-san: Aww. :" I hope the next chapters will be up to your liking, as well. :D

SugarLandBabyGirl-san: Arigato! :3 I'll be working hard to make her character deeper. :) (My jaw dropped when I read "**if you keep it up it'll be a great read**" srsly? :" Thank you :) )

Music fans-san: Maybe brother, or something else? *hint hint* I'm still planning though, so any suggestions would be nice. :)) Thanks for reviewing! :D

Reviews make my stomach feel funny. In a good way, of course. :3 Oh, and while you're reviewing, guess what song I used at the start of this chapter! :))


	3. Dance In The Dark

"_Can we pick up the pace?_

_Turn it up_

_Heat it up_

_I need to be entertained"_

**Chapter 3- Dance In The Dark**

**

* * *

**

_What the freaking hell am I freaking doing here?_

Her eye twitched a bit, taking in the scene before her. She had stayed for dinner at the Sawada household, and found herself smack in the middle of the chaos in the dinner table. The usual people were around, *cough* freeloaders *cough*, and Sawada Nana had cooked enough for everyone (meaning I-Pin, Lambo, Reborn, Tsuna, Yamamoto, Gokudera, Bianchi, Haru and Kyoko). She eyed the little children bickering over the soup- the infant boy had stolen the young girl's lamb chops, and now she was speaking in a very incomprehensible way in a language definitely not Japanese. Taking care not to get her left shoulder hit by the kids, she twitched.

_Oh yeah. Because I'm hungry and by the time I get home, I still have to get my brother to cook something for dinner. Plus, I'm going to have to clean up after, which means I'll miss my drama shows. This is better than THAT. Poor Suzuki-chan should be getting out of jail in today's program, anyway. That, I will have to see. I wonder if her boyfriend will tell her if he slept with her sister, or lead-_

"Misaki-chan, you should try some of my udon!" Nana had nudged her lightly, being the mother she is, and handed her the bowl full of noodles. Tsuna smiled sheepishly at her, as if apologizing for the chaos. She nodded at him, giving him a thumbs-up to show she was fine with it.

"Thanks, Nana-san!" she smiled lightly, and proceeded to eat silently as she observed the chaos. Kyoko and Haru had been taking care of the two kids, Tsuna was trying to break up a one-sided fight between Gokudera and Yamamoto, and Reborn was watching over them, a knowing glint in his eye. She shuddered. The baby still frightened her a bit.

I-Pin tugged on her sleeve and she looked at her, smiling. "Yeah? What is it, I-Pin?"

"Is Misaki-san part of family?" she asked, the innocence shining brightly in her eyes. She looked at her in confusion.

"Eh? Family?"

* * *

Misaki shivered, clutching her bag closer to her chest. Even though it was almost spring, the nights were still chilly and she found herself feeling colder and colder in the evening air. She huffed, seeing her breaths come out as puffs. Tightening her scarf slightly, she quickened her pace, eager to get to her home, or, more importantly, to the mountain of blankets she stored in her room. And also to get her brother to crack her shoulder, since she realized it was most likely dislocated.

_I shouldn't have borrowed Bianchi-nees clothes (though it's awesome that they fit me perfectly). But then again, I wouldn't want to go home with a huge ketchup stain on my skirt. People would definitely get the wrong idea, and I don't really want that._

Misaki had been wearing Bianchi's beige overcoat which fell to her knees. She wore a thin white dress inside, and it ended a bit longer than the overcoat, showing the ruffles-hardly suited for the temperature outside, but she had no choice. She had pouted when Bianchi had tossed it to her after Lambo squeezed the ketchup bottle splat on her backside, and she didn't have any choice but to take it. Luckily, Nana had volunteered to clean the stain out for her and sent her on her way home, guaranteeing that by the next day she would get her uniform back.

She tugged at the scarf, the cold draft passing through her bare legs. If it were daytime, she wouldn't have even dared go outside without something to cover her skin, but today was an exception. In the moonlight, the scars adorning her pale white skin reflected a bit of the moon, but she paid no heed as she hurriedly walked through the streets.

Suddenly, she stopped, hearing painful wails and screams coming from the alley ahead. A normal girl would have ignored it and run home, but seeing as Misaki wasn't normal anyway, she peeked at the dark path, the only light source being the moon. In the dull light, she could make out four figures- two of which were on the floor, bloodied, one still standing but looking very tipsy, and the last one clutching a pair of tonfas.

Wait. Tonfas?

Common sense screamed at her to run. After all, it was only her with her bad luck who could have encountered Hibari Kyouya biting delinquents to death in the middle of the night.

But she stayed. And so she watched him, straining to hear what was coming from his mouth. Her pale hands grew colder as she gripped the concrete wall for support, leaning in to see more of the scene. She winced as a bit of pressure on her left shoulder brought her a shot of pain.

"....rule breakers....bitten....death-" his quiet but slightly irritated tone made her shrink back a bit in fear. Knowing that it wasn't her he was talking about, she braced herself and watched more as the man in front of Hibari threw a bottle at his head, enraged when the prefect evaded it like it was nothing.

"Why you..! Fuck you!" the man charged, his fist raised. He threw a punch at Hibari, missed, and got a swift tonfa to his abdomen. Refusing to give up, he aimed for the prefect's knees as he fell to his own, giving them a fast kick. Looking up from his spot, Hibari hadn't even been fazed at the blow to his legs. Misanagi gulped, seeing the scene get worse. But she couldn't stop him from beating the death out of the unnamed man, because she knew if she interfered she would be next.

Her eyes were glued to the prefect as he attacked the man with his tonfas. In a matter of seconds, the man fell unconscious at his feet, a pool of blood at his head. She had thought that as soon as he had beat up the last one, he would go. She didn't want to risk being heard exiting the scene before he was gone because she knew he would hear, so she stood still, trying not to make a noise as she waited for him to go.

This is where her bad luck kicks in.

**'Kokoro no denpa todoitemasu ka?**

** Tsumibitotachi no Heart Station**

** Kami-sama dake ga shitteiru**

** I miss you'**

She froze. _Shit. Of all the times people have to call my phone, it has to be when Hibari's around to kill me. Kami-sama, why do you hate me so?_ Eyeing the teen at the far end of the alley who was now alerted to her presence, she panicked as she received the call, the bell hanging from it adding to the noise. Hibari gripped his tonfas tighter and walked toward her.

"M-moshimoshi?" she whispered, fear taking over. She could see the prefect come slowly toward her, as if prolonging her torture. This call had better be important, or she would have died over nothing.

"GAHAHA~ Lambo-san is the best! Nishi is stupid! Who are you? Lambo-"

She stared at her phone in shock, ending the call. _Great. If I even come out of this alive, I swear I'm going to kill you, Lambo!_ In a few seconds, her phone disappeared from her hands, and she looked up to see the prefect in front of her, the phone held daintily in his hand. His tonfas glinted dangerously as she gulped.

"What are you doing here?" he growled, her cellphone still in his hands. His dark hair flew a bit in the cold draft and her eyes were glued to his blue-gray ones. For a moment, her fear evaporated and what was left was a kind of wonderment at the man in front of her.

_I can't believe I'm saying this, but he's kind of handsome, in a weird kind of way. Even his fighting style is kind of graceful and- Ugh. Nishimura Misaki, if you repeat that thought again, in your head or not, you really are an idiot. An idiot. And Lambo will be right. You don't want that, do you?_

She shook her head a bit, but squeaked a little "I'm sorry!" at the man in front of her. She bowed for added effect. She had pride, yes, but pride was nothing if she was going to die.

Hibari raised his tonfa and hit her soundly on her back, making her fall to the floor. His shoes, polished and dustless, were the focus of her gaze. Her back hurt, yes, but she tried not to scream in pain. Tears flooded her eyes- that would be a horrible bruise tomorrow, or worse, her spinal cord must have cracked or something. With a body as weak as hers, it wouldn't be far from happening. She hadn't raised her head yet, afraid, and her stray hair framed her face. She was panting, her labored breaths racking her frail frame.

She was bracing herself for the next hit, which came about five seconds after the first one. This was to her shoulder, and she could hear her bone pop. It was on her dislocated shoulder, and the pain came to her even clearer. She fainted, but not before realizing that he had accidentally put her bone back in place.

He looked at her distastefully, staring at her unconscious form as he dropped her cellphone to the floor a few inches away from her body. While disappointed that the loud herbivore had fainted earlier than planned, he supposed he had gotten more than enough body count for today, though his body was aching for another fight. He saw something on the ground gleam in the moonlight, and true enough, it was Misaki's bell charm, having fallen to the ground, a few ways from her phone. The night wind blew as he stared at it, making the bell roll slowly.

Deciding she wasn't worth the trouble of dragging home, he turned around and walked away, the charm safely in his pocket.

She would be for tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N: **Wow. Just... Wow. *u* Thanks for the reviews! :3 They made me giddy. Very, very giddy. LOL.

Taiga-san: Woah. Woah! WOAH! Th-thanks :') (HAHAHA I get too emotional at times. :P )

SugarLandBabyGirl-san: Thanks :D I have a weird sense of humor, so most of the time I suck at making people laugh. It's good to know I made you remember a funny memory. :)))) Was she on a real horse, or a human horse? (LOL I don't think I'm making any sense right now. :)) )

Music fans-san: Not noticing dislocation? Yes, she's weird like that. She's scared of Shamal and his pick up lines, so she didn't really bother coming back to get her shoulder treated. :)) I hope Hibari's blow that accidentally relocated her shoulder was believable. I seriously didn't want her brother to crack it for her. :))) Thanks for reviewing! :)

Twii-san: ADORKABLE. I love it. :)))) She's just, I don't know, random? :))

Oh, and why is nobody guessing what songs I used? LOL. I used Hot Mess by Cobra Starship in the last chapter. Guess what two songs I used for this one and you shall get a... uhm... Hibari-shaped virtual cookie? :)) Now you really can bite him to death. :))

How ironic. XD


	4. Chameleons Don't Turn Into Guns, Right?

"_There's too many things I haven't done yet_

_Too many sunsets I haven't seen_

_You can waste the day wishin' it'd slow down_

_Who would have thought by now_

_I'd learn something"_

**Chapter Four- Chameleons Don't Turn Into Guns, Right?**

**

* * *

**

Nishimura Misaki muttered incoherent words under her breath, walking with Tsuna and Gokudera to her left. Yamamoto was walking beside her right side, and was laughing at her expression. Finally getting irritated enough, Gokudera snapped her out of her trance with a-

"OI! Stupid woman, you're making yourself even look more stupid than you already are! Stop grumbling!"

She twisted her head to look at him slowly, the look on her face terrifying Tsuna. There were bags under her eyes, and newly forming pimples on her forehead. Her mouth was set in a grim line and she looked as though she didn't sleep well.

"Misaki-chan, what happened? There are dark bags under your eyes-"

Ignoring Tsuna, she said to Gokudera in a loud voice- "Shut up, ahodera! You're not the one that woke up in the middle of the street after getting 'bitten to death' by that bastard prefect! At the crack of dawn, you fucking asshole. And stop yelling in my ear, you're making my headache worse!" Then she settled back to muttering under her breath. Tsuna could make out a "stupid prefect... a cockroach crawled on me... a dog almost freaking bit me... all because I watched him hand out punishment... fuck him.."

"There, there, Misaki-chan. Want me to carry you so you can sleep a bit more?" Yamamoto offered. Immediately, she looked up, her eyes sparkling with happy tears. She climbed onto his back, and proceeded to doze off. Tsuna sweatdropped, tugging her bag from her hand, making sure it wouldn't fall to the ground as he took it from her. Yamamoto carried her piggyback-style all the way to the school.

Hibari Kyouya was busy patrolling the front grounds of the school when he saw a familiar trio with a girl on one of the boys' back. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was Misaki, or rather, the girl who passed out too early to actually receive appropriate punishment. Making his way to them, he stopped just as Tsuna squealed in fright at his presence.

"HIIIIEEEE! Hi-hibari-san!" his eyes widened comically, and the silver-haired teen beside him braced himself, gripping his dynamite tightly. Waiting for Tsuna's go-signal, he stared as Hibari glanced at Yamamoto- or more importantly, the girl he was carrying on his back.

Misaki had still been sleeping silently, Tsuna's squeals not waking her up a bit. Hibari eyed them, before saying in a 'calm' voice, "I have unfinished business with Nishimura Misaki. Drop her." At this, many students had stopped walking and watched the scene in terror. There was only one thing in their minds- What exactly had the girl done to Hibari Kyouya to make him bite her to death?

Her eyes flashed open, finally awake. She glared at him, clinging tightly to Yamamoto's neck. "I don't wanna get off, Kyouya-baka." She stuck out her tongue at him, probably delighted at his less than pleased reaction. They were not on first name basis, after all. And being called idiot was a bit degrading.

The prefect's eyes narrowed slightly, and he pulled out his tonfas. "Hahahaha. Hibari, let's not get violent!" Yamamoto said, as dense as ever. It must have irked Hibari for he aimed his tonfa at the baseball player's head. He ducked, missing the metal by a few inches. At this, she got off his back, making him lighter and much more quicker so that he could evade the attacks. She was still sleepy, but she didn't want Yamamoto to be hurt because of her.

Hibari turned to her, attacking her so fast that she barely had time to dodge. It was all she could do, and the tonfa grazed her cheek. Blood dripped from the wound, and she wiped it off, distracted. Hibari landed a sound hit on her stomach and sent her sprawling on the floor. She sat there, waiting for his blows. The girl mentally facepalmed herself for provoking the prefect again.

_He's probably feeling murderous again. For some reason, I'm not as scared as I should be. Maybe __because I'm not particularly afraid of what he's going to do to me anymore? I mean, a cockroach crawling all over your leg is pretty gross. And I almost got bitten by a dog, too! I would have had rabies or something, and somehow, Hibari-san's threat of biting me to death isn't really getting in my head right now. Ha, I won't get rabies from being bitten to death by him, anyway._

"Misaki-chan!" Tsuna squealed, afraid for the girl who seemed unaffected. For the time being Tsuna was more or less protected by his friends, thus giving him the luxury of worrying about the girl. Out of nowhere, Reborn appeared and gripped Leon, turning into a gun. "We have to save her!" he said just as Hibari slammed down a tonfa straight on Misaki's head.

"!" she cradled her head in pain, and if she wasn't so wrapped up in her self pity, she would have seen Hibari Kyouya smirk evilly at her. _He's a freaking sadist! Owwwww..._

"Do it with your dying will, then!"

**BANG.**

At the sound of the gunshot, her head whipped up. Misaki couldn't believe her eyes. The infant she had been afraid of had shot Tsuna. _Tsuna._ And he suddenly burned off his clothes and a flame appeared on his forehead. "REBORN! SAVE MISAKI-CHAN WITH MY DYING WILL!"

_What the fuck? Why isn't he dead?_

Hibari regarded the scantily clad boy with little interest. The bright red hearts on the boy's boxers did nothing to alleviate his irritation. "Violation of the dress code. I'll bite you to death, Sawada Tsunayoshi." He left Misaki crumpled on the floor and turned to Tsuna, who began to attack him with his fists.

_How is Tsuna doing that? Wouldn't his hair be burning by now because of that flame? Why is he in boxers, anyway? Ah, shit. I have to get out of here!_

She dragged herself off the ground and stood up, leaning on the wall for support. Since Hibari had his hands full at the moment, he didn't notice when she was whisked away, suddenly carried on Yamamoto's back again. Everything became blurry to her, too fast to comprehend. Gokudera was throwing his dynamite with a string of curses, trying to distract Hibari for a while. It was all going great until Tsuna's flame burned off and he reverted to his wimpy self.

"HIEEEE!" he squealed, dodging the blow Hibari had thrown and getting a swift blow to the stomach. He fainted. _Uhm... Tsuna? Are you dead?_

Gokudera helped him up, yelled "JUUDAIME! Are you okay? I'm sorry! I've failed you as your right-hand man!" which was replied with dead silence, as Tsuna was unconscious. Yamamoto adjusted Misaki on his back and Hibari walked away, muttering about Herbivores and weaklings. It seemed as though he was disappointed that the 1st year boys and the 2nd year girl didn't put up much of a fight. Besides, Tsuna was pretty banged up already.

Misaki couldn't help but squeal in glee when she realized he hadn't bitten her to death yet. But soon after that, she fainted. Yamamoto carried her all the way to the infirmary, much to the shock of his fangirls. In her state she twitched a bit, sensing the glares being thrown at her, before returning to a more serene facade.

* * *

"Where am I- oh wait. Pervert doctor's here. I'm in the infirmary, eh?" she facepalmed. _How long was I in here? Maybe I've missed algebra-_

She came to in a small bed, and seeing needles had caused her to revive completely. That and seeing Trident Shamal's figure leaving the room did the trick. Lord knows what he could have done when she was unconscious. The pervert. Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto entered the room, carrying a package that smelled suspiciously like food.

"Ah! Misaki-chan, you're awake!" _No shit, Tsuna._ Apparently Misaki's head still hurt from the blow earlier, as she seemed more or less irritated from the moment she woke up. She offered them a small wave as they stood by her bed, and Yamamoto slid the package into her hands. She sat up, and looked at him, confused.

"Uhm. What is this?" she had said, and Tsuna smiled sheepishly.

"We went out to buy you lunch, since you didn't seem to have a bento with you this morning. You like cheeseburgers right?" Tsuna's eyes twinkled a bit, and she wondered why he was so... _cute_ all the time. Nevertheless, she accepted the package and hugged the scrawny boy tightly to thank him, much to his surprise.

"Juudaime spent his money on it, so you better eat it!" Gokudera cut in, and she shrugged him off, not in the mood to argue. Tsuna's cheeks were tinted a light pink. _Is this the first time a girl hugged him like that? If so, Tsuna, your love life sucks. Seriously. _

"Is it lunch period?" she unraveled the paper bag and took out a Bar Girl Ching**(1)** cheeseburger. It seemed there was one more in there, along with some fries. She could not possibly finish the other burger.

"Yeah! Hahaha. You missed your English-" Yamamoto paused, eyeing the girl as she frowned.

"I wanted to discuss Hamlet today too..." she muttered. "Wait, does that mean I've missed my algebra?" her eyes twinkled when Tsuna nodded slightly. A weird smile graced her features in glee. _Good thing they're familiar with my class schedule. It was a good idea to give them a copy~_

"Haha, Misaki-chan looks like she just won the lottery or something!" Yamamoto's laugh filled the atmosphere and Tsuna sweatdropped. Gokudera frowned, irritated that Yamamoto was too dense.

"Why are you even here, baseball freak! REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE TENTH'S VICINITY RIGHT NOW!" at this, Gokudera whipped out his dynamites, and lighted them.

Tsuna whined, wondering why he didn't have sane friends. "Oi! Ahodera! If that thing explodes Tsuna's going to get crushed by the ceiling. Do you really want to cause your beloved 'Tenth' an early death?" Misaki flicked his forehead, and he blinked. "Put 'em out, idiot."

Yamamoto and Tsuna exchanged glances as Gokudera slowly put away his bombs before getting to his knees. "I'M SORRY FOR ALMOST ENDANGERING YOU, TENTH! IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!"

_Somehow, I doubt that, you dolt._

Suddenly, the window blew open and Reborn jumped inside, landing on Misaki's lap.

"Ciaossu." he waved, a smirk on his face as Leon crawled to his shoulder.

"REBORN! What are you doing here?" Tsuna paled. With Reborn in the scene who knew what would happen next? Apparently, anything.

"Oh, it's you! Hahaha. Nice entrance!" Yamamoto, as dense as ever, complimented the hitman on his entrance, which was rather flashy, by the way.

"Tenth!" Gokudera saw this as an opportunity to inch closed to Tsuna, and inch over he did. Misaki's reaction was a bit different from theirs-

She went livid.

"Fuck! It's you!" she managed to yell out before tossing him to Tsuna. She inched away from the boy, her eyes twitching a bit. In her mind, the image of Reborn shooting Tsuna wouldn't disappear. _Speaking of which, why isn't Tsuna dead? Oh, wait. That's a good thing. Right? Right._

"Why are you here, Reborn?" Tsuna wailed, and Reborn jumped up to kick his jaw. _Ow. That's gotta __hurt._

"You should learn to respect your elders, Tsuna." the baby smirked, and she raised her eyebrows. In the background, she could hear Yamamoto laughing. _Elders? HUH?_

"But you're younger than me!" he whined, and promptly got another kick- this time to his stomach. He leaned over and Gokudera rushed to him, trying to aid the boy. Reborn focused his attention on Misaki, who was currently inching away from his presence.

"On to more important matters- Nishimura Misaki, am I correct?" Reborn asked her, and she blinked. _No shit, baby._

"Yeah. I'm Misaki. Why?" her eyebrows furrowed in confusion before Reborn hopped on her bed, Leon crawling to his hand before turning into a gun. He pointed it at her and said dryly-

"I want you to join Tsuna's family."

* * *

_(1) Bar Girl Ching- Burger King. XD_

A/N: *u* Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I'm so glad you guys seem to be happy with my writing.

Twii-san: For guessing one of the two songs, you shall get HALF a Hibari cookie- no, wait. I don't want to split his face in half. Okay, you get a WHOLE Hibari cookie, then! :) Thanks for reviewing. You can now bite him to death, literally. LOL.

SugarLandBabyGirl-san: :" th-thank you~ I'm so happy you said that. Oh, and it's always more fun if you're the one being carried, haha. Poor human horse-san! :)) Thanks for the review! :3

Musicfans-san: he's badass like that. And, of course, he doesn't like the feeling of someone watching his every move. (Yeesh, I make it sound like Misaki is a stalker, which she is definitely not! I think. ) Thanks for your review!

DatAznKid-san: :" aww, thank you! I seriously don't know, either. It seems Gokudera has secret compartments in his clothes to put the dynamites in. At least, that's what I think. :) Thanks for the review!

Ita-chan01: O-oh, thanks! I'm glad you like it! :3

Leeeveeee-san: :" hai! I shall try to update faster! :) Thanks for the review!

Reviews make updates faster, and most importantly, make me happy to write! :) 

That pretty little button below is beckoning you to press it- press it and review! :))


	5. Consent

"_Pyramid_

_We built this on a solid rock_

_Feels just like it's heaven's touch_

_Together at the top_

_Like a Pyramid"_

**Chapter Five- Consent**

**

* * *

**

"I want you to join Tsuna's family." he said, his gun still pointed at her. Her jaw dropped.

"What? Reborn! Don't go around telling people things like that!" Tsuna wailed, temporarily forgetting his stomach pain. His eyes widened at the sight of the gun, and his arms flailed wildly in all directions, trying to make a point. His reaction at the gun told her it was real, and she frowned more. _Great. The gun's real. Why is a baby handling a firearm, anyway? Isn't there a legal age for this?_

"Hahaha. Is Misaki-chan going to play the game too? That's great! The more the merrier!" Yamamoto grinned at her, and she vaguely wondered if he really did get that she had a freaking loaded gun pointed to her. Seeing as it was Yamamoto, probably not.

"That stupid woman, part of the Tenth's family? She's too weak!" Gokudera had yelled that, and if she wasn't so shocked by the baby's demand, she would have punched his face in. "She'd be dead weight!"

They settled into an uneasy silence, and Misaki blinked again. "What?"

Gokudera facepalmed. Here she was, offered a spot in his beloved Tenth's family, and she didn't even get it. He shook his head, restraining from shaking sense into her. If Reborn thought she would be of substance, one way or another, she would be. He hoped so.

"Join Tsuna's family, Misaki." she twitched at his familiarity and decided to let it go, fearful still of the gun pointed at her. _How the hell did a fricking chameleon change into a gun?_ She looked to her friends, seeing Tsuna protest the best he could and Gokudera frowning. Yamamoto's smile was still in place, and he spoke up.

"It's a game, Misaki-chan! It's pretty fun, too." Yamamoto had answered her unasked question of _What the fuck is a 'Tsuna's family'?_

She seemed to relax after that. "Well, since Yamamoto says so, and I trust Yamamoto, okay. I'm bored, anyway." Gokudera restrained himself from jumping her in irritation, instead on focusing on his now fainted boss. What kind of reason was 'I'm bored, anyway'? Yamamoto's cheeks darkened slightly in the corner, unnoticed by Misaki.

Tsuna blacked out at her words. 'Not another crazy one!' were his last thoughts before slipping in the world of unconsciousness. He didn't even hear Gokudera's yells to wake him.

"Good." Reborn smirked, and she shuddered a bit as he put away the gun/Leon. "I'll have a use for you."

"Huh? Use? What do you mean, Reborn-chan?" she furrowed her eyebrows, confused. Why was a baby even talking like that? She sighed, munching on her burger slowly. As if on cue, the warning bell rung again, and Reborn disappeared without a goodbye. She watched as her friends (carrying a still unconscious Tsuna) left, telling her to meet them after school for the walk home- at least, Yamamoto did. Gokudera was focused on not banging any part of Tsuna's body on the door frame.

She sighed, finishing the burger. There was another one inside the paper bag, but she wasn't necessarily hungry enough to eat it as well. She placed it on the dresser, opting to go back to sleep.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Taking out the device, she pressed the green button and brought it to her ear.

"Moshimoshi? Misaki speaking." she greeted the caller.

**"Misaki-chan! How are you! It's big sis!"** the feminine voice reached her ears, and she frowned.

"I'm fine. Why are you calling?" she felt her eyelids drooping. _Mou, Asuka-nee, I want to sleep.._

**"I was just going to tell you that I'm coming home today. Tell your Ryuu-nii, okay?"** she paled at that. When her sister was home, it would always spell chaos for her. Shuddering, she braced herself.

"Fine. Bye. I'm going back to sleep. See you soon." hanging up on her sister, she burrowed in the bed, finding sleep immediately.

* * *

She was sitting in the middle of the field. Around her was Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Lambo, Ryohei, a pineapple-haired girl, I-Pin, Kyoko, Haru, Reborn, Bianchi, and Hibari looking.. old, at least in her eyes. They were chatting excitedly, but she couldn't hear anything from their mouths. For a moment, she wondered if she had gone deaf, but she was broken out of her thoughts when Reborn nudged her. Looking at him, Leon was curled on his fedora, and a small box was in his palm. Reaching for it, her eye caught something glittering on her hand.

Staring at it, the intricate designs on the rather heavy ring interested her. She was about to look up to ask Reborn what the meaning of the ring was, but found him nowhere.

And then, her surroundings warped, and she found herself on the brink of consciousness.

* * *

She shot up, awake again. Her dream easily forgotten, she resolved to get out of the infirmary. Luckily, the perverted doctor wasn't around. Meaning Misaki didn't need to worry about a grown man trying to flirt with her. Adjusting her arm warmers, she jumped off the bed and stretched, her eyes spotting the clock. _Perfect! One last class, and it's free period too!_ She smiled to herself, taking the burger and heading to the rooftop. The open space had always calmed her, and looking at the people below like ants was breathtaking.

Her footsteps were quick and silent as she weaved her way through the halls of the school. If a teacher caught her out of her classroom, no matter if it was free period, she'd be sent back to class, so she avoided being caught. Besides, they'd probably ask her why she had a fast-food burger in her hands when it wasn't even lunch. Opening the door to the rooftop with a small squeak, she sprinted quietly to the railing, the wind causing her hair to fly about. Inhaling deeply, she smiled lightly. It was a moment of peace.

Turning around, that safe peace was shattered, replaced by a calm but tense atmosphere. Her eyes spotted the prefect sprawled on the ground, his chest rising up and down with every breath. His black hair rustled a bit in the wind, and a slight frown was on his face. She neared him, terrified, but nonetheless curious to see the prefect up close. Crouching near him, she stared at the teen.

It wasn't everyday that you could see Hibari Kyouya in that almost vulnerable state, after all.

_How come I didn't even see him when I came here? Mou, I think I'm going blind. Or stupid. Probably._ She rubbed her eyes, staring hard at the boy's features. _Odd. He looks almost.. angelic. Very unlike the guy that had just threatened to bite me to death and almost succeeded, too. If he wasn't so violent, a lot of girls would fall for his looks-_ Lost in thought, she didn't notice that Hibari's eyes fluttered open, returning to his terrifying state once more.

"What are you staring at, herbivore?" his words woke her from her stupor. In shock, she fell on her butt, inching away instantly in fear of his attack. She tilted her head in confusion when he didn't get up._ He's awake? What the... Doesn't he want to kill me or something? Nah, he's probably thinking I'm not worth the trouble._ Receiving no answer, he said, with more edge this time, "What are you doing here? Cutting classes is a violation of the rules."

Somehow, the fact that he was still sprawled on the rooftop floor made his statement a bit less scary. For Misaki, that is. Feeling a bit braver, she inched closer, squatting to be at his eye level. "I have free period, Hibari-san." she grinned, and his eyes narrowed. Ignoring that, she wondered aloud; "You know, Hibari-san, I've never seen you eat. Are you hungry?" with that, she placed the burger beside his arm, and stood up. He stared at the burger and then at her.

_He's probably thinking I put poison or something in there. Meh, it's his choice. But I do hope he likes my apology gift. Though he should be the one giving an apology, I suppose his pride is too important. Who even hits __girls nowadays? Well, it's nice to know he doesn't discriminate. But I've really got to get out of here before he gets the chance to bash my head in._ She smiled at him again, and he sat up. "What is this, herbivore?" he growled, looking pointedly at the package.

"It's a burger. Duh." she giggled, before exiting. Her "See you, Hibari-san!" reached his ears as the door closed. Just like that, he was alone again. His gaze lingered on the spot where he last saw her, and Hibari found himself wondering if Misaki was simply stupid or just too friendly. He stared at the burger, deciding whether or not to eat it.

Unwrapping the paper, he took a bite.

* * *

A/N: Updates are going to be really slow after this because I'll be going to school in a couple of days. I'll try updating every week or two, but my usage of the computer will be limited. Sorry!

SugarLandBabyGirl-san: I don't really blame you for not noticing. It's my failed attempt at humor. *giggles* And thank you for reviewing! :)

DatAznKid-san: *smiles* I'm glad you find her interesting! I find her a bit dry for my tastes. I'm going to work on that. Thanks for the review!

Ita-chan01: S-superbi? :)) Thank you! :3

Twii-san: Hohoho. I didn't say it wasn't Hibari himself. (The idea of Hibari dressed as a cookie is making me hungry. Handsome prefect or not, I like me some cookies. *giggles*) And this would be a thank you for that hilarious picture of the guardians as girls! :)) Thanks, Twii-san! :3

Leeeveeee-san: No! Don't die on me! *wails* Thank you! I'm so happy you said that. :3

426-san: *smiles* thank you! I'll try to update as soon as I can.

Pooh-san: Hey, I like your username. :)) Thanks for the review.

I love my reviewers for their, erm, reviews. They are my fuel, and constructive criticism is candy! Also, my reviewers are awesome. :) *giggles* (I know I didn't make any sense.) And, and, if you want me to update sooner, send me a review (which my friend will then read and send to me, because I'm not allowed to use the computer). Love you guys! :3


	6. Of Festivals and Gyoza Buns

"_We used to be a team_

_Running the streets_

_Yeah we was living out the dream oh"_

Chapter Six- Of Festivals and Gyoza Buns

* * *

_**It was dark. Then, streaks of light entered her vision, letting her see. **_

_** She was near an intersection, holding hands tightly with a boy seemingly younger than her. **__Why does he look so familiar? __**Deep wounds traced her arms, as well as her legs.**_

_** It was unusual for her- it was like she was watching the scene, and could only see her own body moving below her, not able to move from her spot above. It was like she was detached from her earthly connections, like any second she could drift away to the skies above her. The scene below was vaguely familiar, as if she had experienced it before, and was reliving it now.**_

_** Below her, the boy with spiky brown hair thrust a panda stuffed toy in her hands. Her body stared at it dumbly, as if wondering what it was for. Just as she directed her attention to the stoplight on green, the boy bolted from her side of the street, oblivious to the fast car speeding toward him. Above, she tried to yell out a warning, something to stop the boy from running straight into the path of the car, but no sound came out of her mouth.**_

_** Immediately, she reached out, trying to pull the boy back. The panda fell uselessly out of her hands, her dull eyes watching as the car hit the boy full force, effectively flinging him forward. He lay there, a puddle of blood soaking his clothes as he lost consciousness.**_

_** Hit-and-run.**_

_** The body below her sped away from the male child, screaming all the way. The boy did not give any response, crumpled on the asphalt as the girl below yelled for help.**_

_** She shook him, in an attempt to wake him from his slumber. But his labored breaths slowed down, just as his blood soaked her shirt. **_

_** Finally, he stopped breathing, his heart halted.**_

_** Above, her eyes widened, tears dropping from her eyes like the girl below. **_

_** "Touya-kun!"**_

_**

* * *

**_

"Touya-kun!" she sat up, her chest heaving as her alarm clock rang in the background. A light layer of sweat covered her forehead, and her shirt clung to her damp skin. Looking around, she clenched her fists, muttering to herself "Just a dream... just a dream.. It's never going to happen again.."

She fell back on her bed, her breathing slow and silent. Not even sparing the alarm a glance, she reached out and threw it at her wall, where it hit but did not fall apart. Opening her eyelid a bit, a picture of her with Gokudera, Yamamoto and Tsuna caught her eye.

She grabbed it, murmuring silently to herself, "Why do you look so much like him, Tsuna?"

* * *

The sun streaked through the large windows of the classroom. Making her way from her seat, she headed for the exit, adjusting her arm warmers as she went.

_Why is that Physical festival thing being done again? Ugh. People at this school just can't comprehend that there are students (namely me) who'd rather bash their head in rather than do athletic activities. I mean, come on, I'd no sooner plant my face- accidentally, of course- on the ground than win some competition! Meh. At least I'm exempted from participating. The idea of making myself look like a fool in front of those people is making my stomach churn._

Nishimura Misaki sighed loudly again. The classroom was empty, seeing as the Sports Festival was taking place. Her friend, Asakura Mai, was busy in her volleyball game against Team A, so she was alone. After a few hours of doing nothing, her legs were cramping and Misaki decided to at least watch some games, especially since there seemed to be some kind of trouble concerning the teams. Leaving the room, she bumped into Tsuna, his face holding a panicked expression. "Oh, Tsu-chan! What's happening?" she smiled at him, and Yamamoto answered her question.

"Apparently, he's going to be the leader for the pole-knocking contest! Hahaha. Want to watch?" he grinned. Nodding, she followed them outside, where quite a crowd had gathered. Spotting Hibari as the leader of the opposing team, she tilted her head in confusion. _What's happening here? Ugh. This is so confusing. I shouldn't have went to school today. I'm not even doing anything worth staying here-_

She spaced out a bit as the contest dragged on, and Tsuna's voice woke her out of her stupor. "WIN THE KNOCKING POLE CONTEST WITH MY DYING WILL!" And then, a flame burst on his forehead. His boxers were in her sight again. She sighed. The first time Misaki saw that, she was disturbed, seeing as it was Tsuna's boxers, and Tsuna was Tsuna, but now it was common for her. Reborn was nearby, she knew, and he was also the one to shoot the bullet. The moment she was told that it wouldn't kill Tsuna, she was fine with it. (Which was weird since it did involve a gun and there might be a possibility that Tsuna'll get hit with a real bullet. Considering it was Reborn, it could happen.)

All was well until Gokudera and Ryohei started fighting- yelling at the top of their lungs. Watching them silently, she sighed. _When are those two idiots going to get along? _Tsuna went flying into the air as they lost their balance. His flame disappeared and he fell to the ground, his face meeting with the ground. She winced, rushing to him. "That's gotta hurt."

In the end, Hibari had won the contest without doing anything, and she fussed over Tsuna, trying to get his bleeding to stop. She failed, even getting his wounds to open up more. "Mou, I'm sorry, Tsuna-chan!"

"Hey! Nishimura, why are you helping him? He's the leader of the opposing team, you dolt!" one of the people in the crowd yelled, and she facepalmed. _Oh yeah! I'm in Team B, aren't I? Doesn't matter. _

Flashing a grim look at the teen who had yelled, she stuck out her tongue and turned back to Tsuna. How childish.

Misaki tried to get the school nurse to dress his wounds, but had almost been groped when she attempted to ask for his help. Leaving the doctor with a red hand print on his cheek, she dragged Tsuna away in a huff.

_ Darned Shamal didn't even try to treat him. The asshole._

_

* * *

_

A few days later, she was walking from the market when she spotted Tsuna. Waving to him, they chatted for a while, until she saw a particular brunette spying on them.

"Oh! Haru-chan! What are you doing to that pole?" Misaki waved hello to the girl, and the girl waved at her from the telephone pole. Misaki had met her before, and was a bit amused that Haru (who was pretty smart) had a crush on No-Good Tsuna (who, as the name implied, wasn't as bright as Haru. Probably.)

"Eep!" Tsuna squealed, and Haru greeted him. They talked for a while and then Haru said, "Today's Haru appreciation day, so I can buy as many sweets as I want for self appreciation! Want to come, Nishi-chan?"

"Mou, I'm already so fat. I don't think it's a good idea..." she pouted. "I want to, though.."

"I'll treat you, Nishi-chan! Please?" she smiled, and Misaki frowned.

"Fine, but stop me when I reach two slices, okay?" she gave in, and Haru squealed in delight. Tsuna sweatdropped.

As they entered the quaint bakery, they saw Kyoko ordering cake. Tsuna blushed and called her name.

"Kyoko-chan!"

"Tsuna-kun!" she blushed. "I don't eat like this everyday!" she stammered. "It's just once a month, I eat like this..."

Haru giggled. "I do that too! For Haru appreciation day!"

"Really? That's so nice!" Kyoko smiled in delight. They chatted for a while and ordered more cake, before leaving the bakery to head to Tsuna's house.

* * *

"GAHAHA! You will marry Lambo-san!"

Nishimura spit out her tea at those words. Wiping her mouth with her arm warmer, she looked at the cow-boy incredulously. "Excuse me? I don't want to marry you, Lambo."

Lambo ignored it, rushing out of the room, saying "Misaki is Lambo-san's bride! GAHAHAHA!"

Nishimura shook her head tiredly, irritated.

She stared at the bun held out for her. The little Chinese girl (what was she doing in Tsuna's house anyway?) was looking at her with squinting eyes, expectantly waiting for her to take it. Kyoko and Haru had gushed about how cute the girl was, and accepted the buns almost immediately. She sighed, remembering the five slices of cake she had just eaten. At this rate, she wouldn't have an appetite for dinner later. Nevertheless, she took it, flashing the kid a forced smile.

_Ugh. I'm so awkward with kids. The moment they walk in the room, I just freeze up. It'll be a miracle if I have kids in the future- _sensing I-Pin's stare on her, she took a bite of the bun hesitantly, just as Kyoko and Haru bit into theirs. For a moment, she chewed and swallowed a part of it. The next thing she knew, her vision blurred and Misaki blacked out, Kyoko and Haru's "Delicious!" the last thing she heard. (She fainted moments before the two did, but she didn't need to know that.)

She was drifting in and out of consciousness, hearing bits or conversation from the real world and hearing nothing in her mind. Misaki couldn't move- feeling like she was paralyzed, she stopped struggling to get up and just lay there, trying not to panic. _Tsuna-chan will find a way to save me. Probably. If not, there's always Reborn-chan, but I don't necessarily trust him. Mou, I'm sure he's worrying right now. _

"..seems... Nishimura... weak... system..." Reborn's voice didn't really reach her ears, but the words she heard made her heart sink. _This is just sad. I'm being insulted by a baby while I'm fucking unconscious. So much for empathy, Reborn._

"..Gyoza buns..." she could make out Bianchi's voice, but couldn't hear more than Gyoza buns. Tsuna wailed helplessly, as expected, and then their voices got so hushed she couldn't hear anymore.

_Mou... I hope Tsuna can figure this out. I don't want to stay immobilized forever._

She did hear, however, the gun Reborn shot at the three of them.

She immediately rose from her position, body stiff and rigid as a plank. Misaki found herself able to move again, but it was as if something else was controlling her. A flame burned brightly on her forehead, and if she had noticed it, she would have seen that she was almost naked, with only her underwear intact. Out of it's own accord, her mouth moved, but it was muted, as if she didn't want anyone else to know what her dying will was.

Her mind was blurred, as if rushed with adrenaline. She couldn't comprehend what was happening. One moment, she was shot with a bullet, the next, she had the ability to move again, only this time it was stiff, and it seemed she had to do something.

Reborn smirked in acknowledgment as the two other girls dashed out of the house with blankets thrown over their bodies (courtesy of Tsuna) and Misaki was left with them. Tsuna started to chase after them, a blush on his face at seeing his crush's delicates, but not before witnessing Misaki's 'dying will'. Without a word, and with the flame burning brightly on her forehead, she curled up under the blankets and slept on Tsuna's bed.

"Huh? What kind of dying will is that?" Tsuna paused for a moment, then shrugged it off, chasing after the girls. Bianchi left the room, and Reborn walked over to her sleeping form, and flicked her on the nose. Other than a twitch, no other response.

"What a strange regret. 'Not become a burden to Tsuna-chan with my dying will'?" Leon crawled onto his shoulder, and he stared at the girl. "Sleeping instead of running around is one way to do that, I see. But I have plans for you, Misaki, and once they are in effect, you'll be a great asset to my student. After all, you're the only one who can do it."

She twitched again, as if something had disturbed her dream. Reborn left the room, watching her curl up more into a ball in her state. Bianchi came in, carrying new clothes, and set them on Tsuna's table for Misaki.

* * *

Weaving through the streets to find both girls, Tsuna was still blushing about the incident when he sneezed. 'Oh, is someone thinking about me? I hope it's Kyoko-chan.. Oh, wait! She's still in dying will form! It couldn't possibly her.. Please don't let it be a stalker or something.. Or worse, Reborn!'

* * *

A/N: After a few long days, I present this chapter! :) Thanks you guys for all the reviews! :D

thearistocrat-san: thank you! :3 it really means a lot. :D

DatAznKid-san: *giggles* I'm happy you think of her like that. I have to deepen her personality though, so that's coming in the next chapters. Thanks for reviewing!

musicfans-san: I'm sorry for not updating sooner! *cries* I had school and wasn't allowed to be within a meter of my computer. I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Thanks for reviewing!

ita-chan01-san: I got it, actually. Why must Squalo's hair be so shiny and pretty and girly? *giggles* I'm kidding. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you find it adorable. :)

Twii-san: YOU ACTUALLY GUESSED IT! *giggles* The prize is Hibird. Just don't let Hibari catch you with it. *thrusts duck/bird/what the heck is it, anyway? into Twii-san's hand* Oh, and actually, her name was going to be Misanagi Asuka at first. Then I changed it to Nishimura Misaki because it sounded better for me. :)) Sorry for the typo! And yes, I ran out of names- I have no creativity when it comes to names, sorry- so I used Mai again, albeit her personality is a bit more friendlier and non-delinquent. :)) Thanks for the review!

Leeeveeee-san: *giggles* That's a bit EXTREEEMEEE! :))) Thanks for the review!

Pooh-san: Last minute ideas are the best. Really. :))))))) YOSH! I shall attempt to update faster this week! :)) Thanks for the review. :3

SugarLandBabyGirl-san: Ah, the internet. It sucks sometimes. It's no biggie, I'm just happy you reviewed! :) *blushes* I hope your connection doesn't do that again. Take care, as well, and thanks for the review!

I update kind of rarely now. But a lot of reviews might make me update sooner! *wink wink* Love you guys! :)


	7. Agreement

"_She'd never bother with people_

_She'd hate_

_That's why the Lady Is A Tramp!"_

Chapter Seven- Agreement

* * *

"I'm leaving for a while." Nishimura Misaki called out, putting on her shoes as her sister's yells reached her ears. In a split second, Nishimura Asuka appeared in front of her, a frown on her face. Misaki unconsciously tightened her grip on her water bottle, surprised that her sister got there so fast.

"Where are you going, Misaki-chan?" Asuka pouted, hands on her hips. In her haste to reach Misaki before she went out, her reddish-brown curls were disheveled from running and she was a bit red in the face. Compared to Misaki, her older sister Asuka was more mature looking and her skin was tan.

"Somewhere not here, Asuka-nee." she said pointedly, and giggled at her sister's hurt reaction. "Kidding aside, I'm meeting a friend in the park. I just got the text, and I think I'll be back a bit later than usual." she turned around and opened the door, waving goodbye. Even as Misaki had left the house, her sister was still staring at the space she last saw her.

"What are you hiding from me..?" she murmured distractedly. Straightening herself, she yelled at the top of her lungs, "RYUU-KUN! HELP ME PREPARE DINNER!" before rushing to the kitchen. From the living room, an irritated voice rang out amidst the sword clangs coming from the tv.

"Ugh. Later, after I defeat the boss!"

* * *

_'Come to the park immediately.' Mou, I don't think Tsuna texted that... It was his number though. I guess I'll have to find out. _Misaki walked to the park, tying her damp hair messily into a ponytail while holding the bottle in between her teeth. As the swings came to sight, as did a small figure on top of them. Rubbing her eyes, she walked faster to see who it was.

"Ciaossu, Misaki."

_Oh, man. It's Reborn! Mou, I don't think I'm going to like what he's going to say._ She smiled sheepishly in response, before saying "Why'd you text me?" to the baby. Reborn's smirk didn't escape her eyes, and she inched away a bit, terrified of whatever the baby was planning. Goosebumps under her arm warmers rose to the surface, and she involuntarily shuddered.

"I have a mission for you." Her eyebrows raised a bit at his words, but she fiddled with her messenger bag, waiting for him to continue. "If you succeed, you'll be a great asset to Tsuna."

_Great... asset? What? _"What do you want me to do, Reborn-chan?" she sighed exasperatedly, looking pointedly at the baby. His fedora covered the upper part of his face, and she could only see his smirk. Opening the cap, she drank the water, only to spit it out when Reborn spoke.

* * *

"A-ano..." she knocked reluctantly on the Reception Room door, and opened it slightly. Looking around, only Kusakabe Tetsuya, the vice-president of the Discipline Committee was in the room. He motioned for her to enter, and she opened the door fully, throwing the teen a sheepish smile. Unlike the president of the committee, Kusakabe was much more sociable and easier to talk to, so she was relieved when it was him that occupied the Reception Room rather than the violent prefect.

"What is it, Nishimura-san?" he asked politely, and she raised her eyebrow in confusion as she tugged at her skirt. _He knows my name? Prefects don't memorize students' names, right? Oh crap, that's just creepy._

"Eto.." she bit her lip. "May I have the application form for the Discipline Committee?"

If Kusakabe was drinking something he would have spit it out at her words. His face said it all. _He's probably thinking I'm crazy. Damn, I think I am. Why am I even following Reborn's orders? I'm older than him, damnit! Right? RIGHT?_"I don't think you'll be suitable for the DC, Misaki-san. You might get hurt." he looked at her with pleading eyes, as if saying instead, 'females aren't allowed because Hibari-san does not discriminate when he bites people to death!'

"Please let me join, Kusakabe-san! I can handle myself!" her tone of voice was clear- she was trying to be assertive, but was failing miserably, instead sounding like she was begging. He looked at her slightly, as if trying to discern why she was attempting to join a club that clearly had more testosterone-driven members than estrogen-driven ones. Actually, there were really no females in the club, as Hibari had thought of them as weak and useless.

Her eyes were slightly shining- they were watery from trying to keep on staring at Kusakabe for too long, but he didn't need to know that. In his eyes she looked like she was almost ready to cry. She had hoped that he would not hinder her attempts, but clearly was insistent on the idea of stopping her from her joining. "Please.." she echoed, this time softer, and it seemed as though Kusakabe sensed her urgency. He sighed in defeat.

He handed her a folder. "Don't say I didn't warn you, Misaki-san. Hibari-san is strict about who goes into the club, and if you fail his test-"

Suddenly, the door opened and both of teenagers looked to the intruder. She was clutching the folder to her chest, and her eyes widened when the intruder spoke.

"The herbivore doesn't need to take the test. I do not take females in my committee." Hibari Kyouya's voice rang out loud and clear, and she shivered involuntarily, as Kusakabe greeted him.

_I'm here because I'm bored and I have nothing else to do. I'm here because the idea of being useful for once is hard to turn down. I'm here for Tsuna- yes, of course, I'm here for Tsuna! I'm here for him. I will not get scared. I will not piss my pants in terror because I'm not frightened. Wait, am I even wearing pants? Shit, I'm not making any sense right now._

"That's discrimination!" she pouted, her face scrunched up a bit as she twitched and struggled to keep calm. She was frightened, yes, but what Reborn had said flashed in her mind again.

"_**I want you to join the Discipline Committee, Misaki. Watch Hibari for Tsuna- he might have a place in the family as well. This way, you'll be of use, as Tsuna needs more family members."**_

"You're weak." he said simply, as if that fact settled things. It didn't. At least for her.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, dolt." she stuck her tongue out at him and ducked immediately when a tonfa whizzed past her head. _Fuck! I'm in deep shit. I just insulted Hibari Kyouya- again! It'll be a miracle if I get out of this alive. _Kusakabe looked on, his expression darkening as he watched Misaki dodge.

Hibari looked at her, a challenge in his eyes. He was insulted, yes, but he wanted to see if she was all bark and no bite. "I'll bite you to death." He nodded slightly at Kusakabe, signaling him to leave. As soon as he left the room, Misaki's shallow breaths filled his ears as she stood up shakily. _Oh man, my only witness to my own murder has left the scene. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead._

"As much as I appreciate you trying to masticate me or something, I'm afraid I have to decline- SHIT!" she ducked again, the word coming out of her mouth loudly as a tonfa going straight for her nose almost hit. Peeking down at his desk as she tried to get away from the prefect, she noticed how much paperwork was on top of it. "Don't tell me the Discipline Committee Chairman can't handle his own paperwork!" she teased, a bit breathless as she dodged a tonfa.

He lunged at her, successfully hitting her head sideways, hearing her shriek as she cradled her now bruised head. "Tch. Like you could do better."

She stopped cursing at stared at him. _This is the first time he's dropped words to me that aren't "Bite you to death" "Herbivore" and "You're weak". Obviously, I'm making progress. I think. _"Like hell I can!" facing him fully, she put her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks, saying "I'm not useless, you know." There was a hint of red where he had hit her head a few moments ago. Nishimura breathed raggedly, her chest heaving in an attempt to get more oxygen.

"You look useless. And weak." He stopped trying to attack her, seeing her moan in pain was good enough for now. Putting away his tonfas, he walked to the desk burdened with papers. She eyed him, quite a sight as her disheveled hair stuck out at odd places and her uniform was wrinkled badly from trying not to get hit. Her vision spun, and she struggled to keep her balance as she stood, watching him wordlessly, before thinking of a retort.

_Okay, maybe not, but really. He's Hibari, what should I expect? He's not particularly kind to people, much less females. Jeez. He's such a sexist._

"Low chance, Hibari." she frowned, one hand on the side of her head which was currently throbbing from the blow she had taken. "I think you need a secretary." she voiced, immediately clamping her hand over her mouth in disbelief. _Did I just...?_

_What the flying fuck. Did I just say that? Shit. I'm going insane from all his blows to my head. _

"And what makes you think I'd take you, Nishimura?" he replied, an edge to his voice. But there was a slight amusement in his eyes, as if he was contemplating on taking up on her offer. She took a deep breath and mustered her courage. _This is going to be the death of me. Literally. Just being in Hibari's presence is dangerous- I hope I don't die soon._

"Well, for one, I actually have time to read those papers-" she gestured to the thick stack of paperwork, "two, I have good handwriting, three, I'm fluent with English and Japanese, as long as with other types of languages... and four, I won't actually be a part of the committee, I think."

Hibari paused a bit. _No way. He's actually thinking about it._

"No." he said with conviction. _Nevermind. _

She twitched, at the same time letting out her breath when she realized she had held it in, anticipating Hibari's answer. "Bah, men. You're too-" A wave of relief had passed over her, good, she could tell Reborn that Hibari didn't want her around and could go on without a threat to her lifespan-

"You'll be a part of the committee." he continued, cutting her off. Her eyes widened. _SERIOUSLY? WHAT THE FUCK- _a stream of obscenities coursed through her mind, and she yelled in shock.

_ "_Really? W-"

He threw a folder in her face, and she stopped, rubbing her nose in slight annoyance. "Shut up. Sign it."

She looked at him, puzzled. Opening the folder, it was a contract to the Disciplinary Committee. Or, more specifically, Hibari himself.

* * *

I, insertnamehere, swear to enforce discipline under the leader Hibari Kyouya. As his insertpositionhere, it is my duty to follow his orders without question and support him in his job to keep Namimori Middle's peace intact. In this respect, I place my allegiance to him as his insertpositionhere.

Signed,

signature

insertnamehere

Acknowledged,

signature

Hibari Kyouya, Committee President

* * *

"Okay. What the f-what is this?" she voiced, freaked out by the contract. So much so that she had almost cursed again in his presence- and it would not do to irritate the prefect even more. _Obliged to follow his orders __without question? Placing allegiance? What the fuck? He sounds like a freaking dictator!_

"A contract. Isn't it obvious?" he stared at her, as if daring her to sign it. She stared back, and for a few seconds, the only sound that filled the room was the sound of their even breathing- though Misaki felt as if her heartbeat's beating had been amplified to the point where it was all her ears could hear. She frowned, distracted as it went **ba-bump, ba-bump** in her ears.

"I'm not stupid. I was asking why I have to pledge my allegiance- that seriously sounds so lame- to you of all people!" she ran her hands through her hair, plucking out a pen hanging on her long socks. "I'm going to have to remake the contract, Hibari. It sounds unappealing and may affect an applicant's decision on joining. Who knows if there's someone strong who wanted to join but didn't want to be your lackey?" she tutted, saying, "Phrase it better."

"That'll be your job." he smiled creepily, and she shivered involuntarily in response. Shaking her head slightly to get read of the hesitation, she pointed out;

"You're already relying on me, and I haven't even signed the contract yet. How nice." he shot her a look, indicating that if she said any more all talk would be forgotten and she would land in the ICU because of a pair of tonfas. She inched away, gripping the pen tightly as she sweatdropped. "Okay! Okay!" Nishimura opened the folder again, her hazel brown eyes flickering with hesitation before hardening in resolve. Hibari raised an elegant eyebrow slightly at the sudden change in her attitude, but brushed it off, watching her every move as she struggled to sign the contract.

Nishimura bit her lip in frustration. _Tsuna needs this. The poor boy can't face Hibari without shrieking in fright.. I hope I don't die because of Hibari. _As if at once, her decision was final. She gripped her pen tightly and signed _**Nishimura Misaki **_with a brilliant cursive in the English language, one thought echoing in her mind as she did so.

_I just signed my death warrant._

_

* * *

_

A/N: Finally, I have the time to upload this :D I'm sorry to the readers who were waiting for the update. The past weeks have been really hectic, and I couldn't go and update. :(

_ita-chan101_-san: I wanna learn how to wash MY hair Varia style. :)) Maybe then it'll be decent-looking. :)) Thank you for reviewing! :)

_DatAznKid_-san: *cries* I'm sorry I update slow! *slaps self for stupidity* And thank you for reviewing. :D

_Twii_-san: *snorts in laughter* BICK, really? :)))) Sounds like- *beep* HAHAHAHA. Yes, stress. :))) Thank you for the review! :p

_Leeeveeee_-san: *hyperventilates* (pressure isn't good for me) :)) I don't know if she's just lazy or really cares about Tsuna. :)) Thank you for your review! :)

_Pooh_-san: *jaw drop* really? That's so sweet, Pooh-san! :3 I'm sorry for the late update. :(( *evil glint in eyes* You'll find out who Touya is soon. *evil laugh* and thanks for reviewing! :)

I like reviews. Will you give me one? *puppy eyes* I promise I'll try to update faster! :D *giggles* 


	8. Stars In His Eyes

"_Trouble he will find you no matter where you go_

_No matter if you're fast no matter if you're slow, oh oh"_

Chapter Eight- Stars In His Eyes

* * *

It was a Saturday, and Misaki was walking along the streets of Namimori, making her way to the Sawada household. Misaki planned to give Tsuna and his mother a surprise visit, seeing as she wanted to drop off a few self-help language books to help Tsuna with his English. She was wearing a long sleeved-dress with a light blue color, successfully hiding the scars in her arms. She had experimented today, and had used stockings that were darker than her skin tone to cover her leg scars. She looked put together, seeing as her sister had tried to make her wear something more feminine.

As Misaki rounded the corner, she saw a crowd of men wearing suits around the Sawada household. _Suits! Wow, that's so awesome!_ Her grip on her messenger bag tightened as she neared them, barely containing her excitement. Suits= awesome= happy Misaki. One of the men cast a look at her, and immediately whipped out a phone as he talked in a hushed voice. Very suspicious.

_That's not good. _She braved the crowd of black, and knocked nervously on the front door, aware that the men were staring at her as she stood there. When a woman opened the door, she let out a sigh of relief, seeing a familiar face.

"Oh, Misaki-chan! Tsu-kun is upstairs, I take it you're here to see him?" Sawada Nana smiled at Misaki, and the younger girl nodded, before wondering, _Doesn't Maman get disturbed that there are weird men- who are wearing awesome suits, may I add- around her property?_ As Nana stepped aside to allow her to enter, she said, "He has guests right now, but you can continue up to his room, Misaki-chan!"

Nodding in thanks, Misaki climbed the stairs as fast as she could, adjusting the heavy bag as she went. Knocking timidly on Tsuna's door, she could hear "Wow! That's great!"

The door flew open, and she was face to face with Yamamoto Takeshi, who had a cheerful expression on his face. "Hey, Misaki-chan! Come in!"

She smiled immediately, and waved in greeting as she said "Hey guys! What's up?" Yamamoto closed the door behind her, and she spotted another kid in the room. Gokudera, Haru, Reborn, and Tsuna were in the room, and she tensed. Had she just interrupted something?

"Stupid woman, what are you doing here?"

"Nishi-chan! Hi!"

"Misaki, ciaossu."

"Misaki-chan! Why are you here?"

She glomped Tsuna briefly, happy to see the boy. "Tsu-chan, what's happening? There are weird men- who are wearing awesome suits, by the way- outside. Did Gokudera kill someone?"

Gokudera's head snapped to her, a weird expression on his face. "What the fuck, woman? I didn't kill anyone!"

She straightened up, ruffling Tsuna's hair as she said to him pointedly, "Are you sure? Bombs can kill, you know." She laughed as Gokudera let out a long stream of curses (don't they care that there's a kid in the room? What bad influences), and turned her attention on the boy with the large book. "Eh? Who are you?"

"He's Ranking Fuuta, Misaki. A very reliable informant to Mafia families." Reborn spoke, and added, "He's never wrong."

She raised her eyebrows at that. "Really? That's a weird kind of ability. I'm sure there are people who'd want it for themselves, don't you think?" she addressed Reborn, and he nodded in response, confirming her statement.

"Hahaha, why don't you rank something for Misaki-chan, Fuuta?" Yamamoto cut in, and the boy nodded, standing up. Misaki watched as Fuuta concentrated, before objects started flying around.

"What the fuck?" she yelled out, floating in the air as Fuuta's irises began to change, turning into a weird star formation. It was a good thing Fuuta was in his own little world right now, or else his virgin ears would have been unvirginized by Misaki's potty mouth. She inched backwards, and fell down, Gokudera's laughter reaching her ears.

"Misaki-nee's femininity ranking is..." _Oh dear God, why is being feminine being ranked? I swear, my ranking is going to depress me._ "Seventy-three out of a hundred people."

Gokudera snorted in laughter, and she glared at him. "Alright, we all know I'm not that feminine. Stop rubbing it in, octopus-head." then, thinking for a second, she turned to Reborn, saying, "Did you tell him my name?"

"Of course, Misaki." he smirked, and Misaki stared at him, confused. _Okay, he seems to be in a weird mood today. Better stay away. _She sat beside Yamamoto, directly across Gokudera.

Fuuta didn't seem to hear her, as he continued, "Misaki-nee's normalcy ranking is..." a book floated by Misaki's face, and she squinted as she read its cover- **Vongola History for Dummies**. She chuckled. _Dummy. What's a Vongola, though? Some kind of clam? _"Thirty-two out of one million."

"I don't know how to react to this. I guess I should be happy I'm kind of normal?" she chuckled at their faces, before looking at the boy again. He didn't seem to be stopping soon, as he opened his mouth again to speak.

"Misaki-nee is ranked number two for having the lowest self-esteem out of seven hundred people."

Haru raised her eyebrows at this. "Really? But why? I don't get it!"

Misaki shot Fuuta a dirty look. _Who is he, really? He's kind of irritating me now._

"Misaki-nee is ranked number nine in three thousand people for tolerance of pain."

"I'm sorry, what?" she looked at him, confused.

"But Misaki-chan has zero pain tolerance, doesn't she?" Tsuna piped up, and Yamamoto nodded, laughing.

Misaki turned to him. "So do you, Tsu-chan. Need I remind you about the times you whined in pain about getting hit by that Lambo kid?"

Tsuna's cheeks pinked considerably, and he avoided her gaze. She laughed.

"Misaki-nee is ranked number seven in nine hundred thousand people for loyalty." Fuuta murmured, and she smiled at that. _I'm loyal? Awesome~_ "Misaki-nee is also ranked number three in twenty people who are affected by Tsuna-nii positively."

"Okay, that's enough." she stopped smiling, shoulders drooping. "You don't have to tell people things like that."

Gokudera shot Tsuna a look, baffled by Fuuta's words. "What happened, Tenth?"

Misaki sighed. "I'll tell you later, Gokudera. Later." she frowned, but Fuuta continued, and she suppressed the urge to massage her temples. Her head was hurting her.

Haru spoke up, saying "Oh, oh! Haru wants to hear Nishi-chan's top five admirers!"

Misaki stiffened. _No. No fucking way. I don't have admirers. Right? RIGHT?_

"Misaki-nee's top five admirer is Sato Yuki."

"Huh? Who?" she tilted her head to the side, as if doing so will make her remember who the boy was. Tsuna piped up, saying;

"Isn't he a third year? The one in the boxing club?"

"I don't know him." she muttered.

"Misaki-nee's top four admirer is Lambo of the Bovino family."

Enter Gokudera's laughter. "What the fuck? That idiot? That's pathetic, woman!"

Leaning over the table, she flicked his forehead in annoyance, glaring all the way. "Shut up, asshole."

"Misaki-nee's top three admirer is Tanaka Kai."

"Tanaka? But that's.. no, they're not related.." she mused to herself, earning a weird look from Gokudera. "Why is it that I don't know these people?" she sighed. Yamamoto laughed, explaining;

"He's one of the regulars in the baseball team, Misaki-chan."

"Really? I didn't see him when I watched one of your long games." she replied, leaning her head on his shoulder. He didn't seem to mind, even moving a bit to make her a bit more comfortable. It was normal, seeing as Misaki always used Yamamoto as a human pillow/horse. She didn't particularly care and wasn't that conscious when she was near him, as he was a close friend to her.

"Misaki-nee's top two admirer is..." Fuuta trailed off, and added unnecessary suspense to the atmosphere. Haru squealed in excitement, hugging Tsuna's arm as she gushed about how romantic it was for Misaki to have so many admirers. That was, until Fuuta's next words reached their ears.

"..Yamamoto Takeshi."

Immediately, Misaki blinked, taking her head off Yamamoto's shoulder. "I'm sorry, what?"

Beside her, Yamamoto laughed, saying "Hahaha, I'm number two?"

She turned to him, confused. "Really? It's true?"

"What the hell? The baseball idiot?" Gokudera yelled, obviously shocked.

"Yamamoto-kun! You like Misaki-chan?" Tsuna wailed, taking in Yamamoto's unaffected facade.

"Hahi! How romantic~"

"Interesting." Reborn muttered, his fedora casting a shadow over his eyes.

"Of course! Hahaha!" Yamamoto laughed again, the smile never leaving his face. Yamamoto, as dense as he was, was most probably thinking Tsuna meant 'You like Misaki-chan as a friend?". Maybe not, but it was Yamamoto. Nobody really knew.

Misaki's face turned blank, then mixed in with different emotions at once. _Wh-what the hell? Takeshi? Really? I don't... think of him.. like that. Oh my God, I don't want to hurt him! Why is this so complicated? Oh, man, this sucks. I don't understand why, he's.. he's..._

**Thud.**

"Misaki-chan!"

"Woman! What the hell?"

"Hahi! Nishi-chan's unconscious!"

"Oh, that's a nice reaction." Yamamoto grinned again, looking at the unconscious girl in his lap. Her eyelashes fluttered a bit.

Misaki fainted from too much thinking, and never got the chance to hear who her number one admirer was (though, she didn't really know who he was, so it wasn't a big deal).

* * *

It was afternoon. The streaks across the sky mixed, a curious color of orange and pink filling the space. Misaki was still passed out- or probably just sleeping, but they couldn't tell. Yamamoto had volunteered to take her home, and carried her on his back like always.

There was just something with her and piggyback rides that she always asked him to carry her like so. He didn't particularly mind, since she wasn't as heavy as she thought she was (but was still slightly heavy). Tsuna had worried that Yamamoto would find difficulty in carrying her home, but the baseball player assured the young boss that it would be no problem.

So why was it suddenly hard to ring the doorbell to the Nishimura residence?

Shifting her a bit, she murmured in her sleep, "No.. Suzuki-chan, don't fall for it..." before falling silent again. '_Suzuki? Wasn't that the main character in that drama at night? I didn't know Nishi-chan watched those. Hahahaha.'_ he thought to himself, before taking a deep breath and pressing the doorbell.

No answer. He pressed it again.

Finally, after five minutes or so, an irritated male opened the front door, immediately giving Yamamoto the impression that he had interrupted something. They stared at each other, not saying anything, before the man spoke;

"What happened to Misaki?" Nishimura Ryuu's eyes softened upon seeing his little sister's sleeping form. His eyes found Yamamoto's, hardening again. "What did you do to her?"

Yamamoto laughed. "Hahaha. She passed out, and I carried her home. I'm Yamamoto Takeshi."

It seemed Ryuu didn't believe his answer, thinking that he must have drugged her to do his way with her and- such is the mind of an overprotective brother. He walked over, taking his sister from Yamamoto's back.

"Thank you." he said, his tone of voice not matching the smile he showed. It was a clear warning. **Stay away from my sister, and no one gets hurt.**

Thankfully (or not), Yamamoto was particularly dense in this department, and did not catch the silent message Ryuu was sending him. Instead, he smiled back and bid farewell, reaching over to ruffle the sleeping Misaki's hair before walking away.

Ryuu followed him with a scowl. When he was out of his sight, the frown was dropped and he sighed. "Why must you always surround yourself with boys?"

"Nnnh.." Misaki shifted a bit, and Ryuu turned back to the house, more or less agitated as he adjusted her weight in his arms.

Yes, he had sensed a different kind of affection from that Yamamoto boy.

* * *

A/N: Oh my. *speechless* That's a lot of reviews. :)

thearistocrat-san: *sparkly eyes* Thank you :D it was a last-minute addition that chapter. I'm very happy you like it! :3

sharebearthedeathbear-san: *giggles* thanks! :) It's kind of a weird break from that last chapter's tensioned feeling (at least for me) but I don't think she'll need the reservation yet until chapter 10. :)) (BTW, I like your penname. :)) )

kurobunnyalice-san: Thank you! :D Those are quotes from some of the songs that are on my playlist. Specifically, what quote are you talking about? :)

Kuro Neko to Kuro Bara-san: ROFL. Thanks for the review! :33

SugarLandBabyGirl-san: It's okay! :D I'm happy you found the time to read this then, what with your busyness and all. :) If you ask me, she's just lazy. :D And Touya-kun is *bleep bleep bleep SPOILER bleep* :)) Thank you for reviewing! :D

music fans-san: Pancake! *giggles* Thank you! :D I was actually thinking of Yamamoto, since Hibari and Yamamoto's personalities just clash. Tsuna is more of a brother figure, and he actually *bleep bleep bleep SPOILER bleep*. Thank you for reviewing! :D

DatAznKid-san: *nods* Things will get better though. Or maybe not? :D Thanks for reviewing! :D

Fun-sized Friend-san: *giggles* Thank you for reviewing! You'll know soon. :D

hyper. lolita426-san: :D I'm glad you like it! Thank you for reviewing!

Twii-san: I don't know, maybe Hibari will be all kind and there'll be rainbows popping out of nowhere and unicorns coming out of them and he'll be smiling and *gets shot* okay, nevermind. Hey, I'm not a pervert! :)) And thank you for reviewing! :D

Asdfghjkl-san: yes, yes it does. *gets shot* I'm kidding. I'm very happy as it is that you guys seem to like my writing. :D I'm sorry for not updating sooner, though. *cries* Thanks for the review!

Leeeveeee-san: How... lazy. *giggles* not that it's a problem, though. Here's your update, and thank you for reviewing! :D

Reviews are highly appreciated. :D I mean, very very highly appreciated. *meaningful wink*


	9. Torture Device

"_Last night, _

_I got served a little bit too much of that poison, baby_

_Last night, _

_I did things I'm not proud of_

_And I got a little crazy"_

Chapter Nine- Torture Device

* * *

The sky was a brilliant blue, the sun already peeking through the stray clouds. It was midday, and Nishimura Misaki was regretting more and more her decision of walking to Sawada Tsunayoshi's household instead of taking a cab. Wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and black shorts, her legs were clad with stockings, an alternative to the long socks she used in school. A thin bead of sweat rolled down her forehead.

Since she didn't have anything else to do, she had decided to visit Tsuna. He was bound to be doing something particularly amusing or funny, which meant she wasn't going to be bored for a few hours. Misaki rounded the corner to Tsuna's house, bumping into a rather hard chest as she turned right.

She squeaked an "ouch!" before stepping back as she rubbed her nose, which was throbbing from the impact.

"Oh! Sorry!" a masculine voice said apologetically, immediately capturing her attention. She looked up, silently scrutinizing his appearance. He had a well-toned chest, evident enough from the muscle shirt she saw, which was the first thing her eyes came in contact to. _Crap. I feel so small right now. _As her eyes traveled upward, she saw his blonde hair and brown eyes. They twinkled with warmth, and she immediately smiled, feeling no ill-will toward the man. He was exceptionally handsome, in that boy-next-door way.

There were just some times that Misaki got a vibe off people- it was as if she just knew whether a person had good intentions or not. It rarely happened, but when it did, that gut feeling tended to be right. The vibe she got from the still nameless man was good- it felt just like _ice cream on a summer day. That's a new one. He looks so kind- I wonder what country he came from. He certainly isn't from around here, that much I can tell._

"Uh, it's all right. It was my fault..." she trailed off, clearly indicating that she was waiting for his name. He grinned, holding out a hand.

"Dino. Dino of the Cavallone."

_Dino of the Cavallone? No last name, huh? That's unusual._

She took his hand, firmly shaking it as she beamed, "Nishimura Misaki."

* * *

Her phone rang, and she was startled out of her thoughts. Math homework was so... irritating, for her. Misaki had started in the morning and was stuck on the same problem till afternoon. She was well aware that if she continued to get low grades on her tests and assignments, she would be failed for the semester, so she was focusing now on trying to get her formulas right to at least get a good grade on something. Sadly, her homework was not cooperating with her.

After this, she would still have to file Hibari's paperwork, and that was due two days from now. Knowing Hibari, it wasn't particularly going to do her good to slack off on her secretarial duties. _Seriously, why does he have so much paperwork? I can totally understand why he's so irritated all the time. I think._

Her phone vibrated, moving silently across the desk. Furiously scrubbing out her answer and replacing it with another, she flipped open her phone and pressed the green button, not bothering to look at the caller ID as she erased her answer again in frustration.

"Nishimura here. What do you want?" she said slowly, more or less distracted by her work. There was slight static on the line, but she could hear the caller's voice perfectly.

"Misaki. Come to Tsuna's." she made out before the call was dropped. Stopping momentarily on her work, she stared at it disbelievingly. _Was that Reborn? Crap, is Tsuna in trouble?_

She thought for a bit, before standing up. She tossed her pencil at the table, intending to finish it when she came back. Climbing the stairs to her room, she stared for a while in her reflection, contemplating on whether to change or not.

She was wearing a sleeveless shirt with black leggings, along with her signature arm warmers. Deciding not to change, she grabbed her brown overcoat and sprinted down the stairs as she put it on. "I'm going!" she yelled, and her brother's head popped from the living room.

"You better not come back passed out." he warned. Misaki giggled, bounding out the door.

"I'll try, Ryuu-nii!"

As she closed the door behind her, she heard a "That's not good enough!" before leaving the house. She walked as fast as she could to Tsuna's place, all morbid possibilities of him in a freak accident entering her mind. As she walked into the street, her eyes met black clothing. Suits, to be exact. _Suits! Awesome~ _Smiling, she waved to them unconsciously, expecting them to ignore her, and was shocked when they smiled at her in greeting.

_That's weird. Men in black suits with shades and everything don't usually smile at little girls. Can they be pedophiles? Argh, I shouldn't be paranoid about this!  
_

She sped past them, entering the household when Nana opened the door for her, telling her to join Tsuna in his room with his guest. _Woah. Deja-vu. Why do I feel like I've seen this scene before? Oh, right, it was like this when I met Fuuta. But those men from back then looked evil. The men now look nice, in a creepy kind of way. Ha, that's weird._

Climbing up the steps, she bounded into the room, immediately glomping Tsuna. Normally she would have knocked before entering, but today she was too worried that he had been killed by ninjas or shot by hit men or struck by lightning and the like that she had been so excited to see that he was, well, alive.

"Tsu-chan!" she squealed, ruffling the slightly choking boy's spiky hair.

"Misaki-chan? What are you doing here?" he whispered out, before Misaki let go of him, realizing he needed oxygen to live.

"Reborn called, told me to get over here. I thought you died or something!" she whined dramatically. Pausing from her drama, she stared at the newly-noticed visitor she certainly remembered.

"Dino-san!" she blinked as the blonde waved hello.

"Hey, Nishimura-chan!" he shot her a goofy grin, and she smiled.

"You know him, Misaki-chan?" Tsuna exclaimed, disbelief in his eyes.

"Yeah, I bumped into him yesterday. Why? Is he a bad person?" she cocked her head to the side, a puzzled expression on her face.

Reborn piped up, "Not particularly. He's Tsuna's mafia onii-san."

"Eh? Mafia? Does this have anything to do with being in Tsu-chan's family?" she wondered aloud, and Reborn nodded, explaining to her that Dino was the boss of his own family, the Cavallone, and that he was his past student. Misaki looked at Dino skeptically. Of course, it was hard to believe that a baby as young as Reborn would be able to teach him.

Not noticing the hours as they talked, the sun had set and it was already nighttime when she looked out the window. Misaki stretched a bit, before remarking, "So does this mean that Tsuna's family wasn't really a game, like Yamamoto said?"

Tsuna sweatdropped. "Yamamoto thinks it's a game. I really wish it was, though.." he trailed off, and Reborn smirked.

"Mafia isn't fun and games, Dame-Tsuna." she giggled at the nickname, before realizing that she needed to get home before her evening dramas started. Standing up, she waved.

"I have to get home. It's getting late. See you at school, Tsu-chan. Thanks for explaining the mafia to me, Reborn-chan."

"I'll take you home, Nishimura-chan." Dino's voice reached her ears, and she smiled simply.

"Okay, Dino-san."

* * *

A simple walk home was all she wanted.

So why was she watching Dino beat up a few muggers as she trembled in the corner?

It wasn't as if she was scared of the muggers. No, there were more things to be scared of than petty thieves.

To someone who knew the nature of her arm and leg scars, they knew full well that she had obtained them with a whip used by the yakuza for torture. So it was only natural that she was scared of people who had whips, more so people who were skilled with using it. It was only during these times that Misaki had flashbacks of the pain she had felt after each strike hit her that day, and it wasn't a pleasant experience.

They were walking, simply walking, as they conversed lightly, when a man suddenly approached them with a knife, saying "Give me all your money or you die!" Behind him were two more men with knives as well, and as Misaki made a move to grab her wallet and evade conflict, Dino did something that made her so frightened that she inched away into a corner, paralyzed.

He took out his weapon- a whip, just as the man in the black suit who had smiled at her earlier appeared- all traces of friendliness gone. Had he been following them all this time? Creepy.

"Romario!"

Immediately, she remembered the feeling of the whip hitting her skin, and she shut her eyes, trying to stop thinking about it- the fast whipping sound, the tearing of skin... Letting out even breaths, she slowly opened her eyes, taking in the scene. The men were on the floor, writhing in pain, and Dino was coming towards her.

"Are you okay, Nishimura-chan?"

She shrunk more into her corner, a strangled "no" coming from her lips.

"They're unconscious now, you're not going to get hurt anymore." something Dino said made her look up at him. He was smiling, whipless. It seemed he had hidden it away.

_He has a whip... But he's so.. kind. So unlike those men that gave me these scars._

It wasn't as though Misaki had been traumatized of the men, rather, she disliked whips because of the pain she felt when they had connected with her skin, and the way they had faded into scars that had marked her for life after the incident. It was an unusual fear, but she trembled every time she saw whips or strong ropes of any kind. She didn't know why, but she could remember things- memories, like that, in painstaking clarity. If it were, say, memories of a happy moment in her childhood, she wouldn't have minded, but remembering the pain she had received every time she saw those devices of pain- it was all too much.

"Nishimura-chan?" he asked again, holding out a hand. She braced herself, and stood up, using him for support. _I guess.. I guess he's fine, as long as he doesn't use his whip. That vibe I'm getting from him still isn't dangerous.. Maybe he's really not going to hurt me._..

"I'm.. I'm okay now, Dino-san."

At this, Dino smiled. "Good! C'mon, let's get you home!" emitting a happy aura, he started walking, as if he hadn't just beat up a few muggers. Then, he tripped. On his own two feet.

She stared at him blankly, before laughing at his clumsiness. _Maybe he'll be the one who'll make me get over my fear of whips. Just maybe.._

Helping him up, she dusted him off before walking away. When she was certain that Dino was following her, she said, "Dino-san?"

"Yeah?" Misaki could almost hear the smile in his voice, but didn't comment on that.

"Can I call you nii-san? I feel like you're my long lost older brother."

Dino laughed good-naturedly. For some reason, she was reminded of Yamamoto. "Sure, Nishimura-chan!"

* * *

In the middle of the night, Misaki's phone rang. Buried under the blankets, she groaned, a hand sticking out from the pile to grope the floor for her phone (she was sleeping on a futon).

"Moshimoshi..." she croaked, eyes closed and half-asleep. A familiar voice grunted on the end of the line.

"Report tomorrow at 5 AM sharp. Or else I'll bite you to death." then, the phone clicked, indicating that the call had ended.

Her eyes flew open in surprise.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the wait! Hibari's not in this chapter, either. Exams are coming up, so I don't think I'll be able to update ASAP.*cries* I don't think I'll be able to pass. :/

Kuro Neko to Kuro Bara-san: *giggles* glad you liked it! I wasn't sure if I should have included Yamamoto in it, but it seems you guys like it! ^^

SugarLandBabyGirl-san: Thank you! :) Eh, she really can't. She's weird like that. *laughs mysteriously*

dhjAmystery-san: His identity will forever be a secret. :)) Aw, but how about HibaxMisaki? XD

Rya-chan X Shii-chan: Yeah, he did, but the first admirer's persona really isn't important. :))

sharebearthedeathbear-san: Hey, I didn't think about using her pain tolerance thing like that. :)) I'ma keep it in mind. :)) Yes, YES! Hibariiiii *hyperventilates* but I love them both, anyway- no, scratch that. I love them ALL. :)) He's creepy, but Fuuta is still cute. :))

Pooh-san: YOSHI! Updated! :)) and thank you for reviewing! :D And I'm glad I shocked you. Is it believable, though? :/

Bittersweet Apathy-san: That's a lot of reviews. :)) Yeah, she's weird, and probably because her sister is mostly away all the time and that she's been living with her brother for THAT long, his habits must've rubbed off on her and her preference for the gender of her friends. Haha, I couldn't think of a decent play of McDo's name. So sorry for that, but I love their burgers anyway. ^^ Tsuna's not used to girls showing affection for him, as told in one episode/ chapter (I can't seem to remember if it was in the anime/ manga, but he hinted that he had never accepted chocolates from any girl before, aside from his mom. I'm just assuming that he's never been hugged like that.) Kids are pretty much straightforward, and Lambo is a kid, so... :)) I will read it and review and fave it and everything if you write one! :DD Thank you for your reviews!

Twii-san: Good guess! *giggles* I present, a Dying Will Bullet! Limited Edition and all. Don't waste it, LOL. - hey, that rhymes! *gets shot*

Leeeveeee-san: STICKS? *giggles* totally surprised you there, didn't I? :))

Reviews are love. :))


	10. Melting

"_She lives in a fairytale,_

_Somewhere too far for us to find."_

Chapter Ten- Melting

* * *

_IT'S FOUR. FOUR FRICKING THIRTY. I SHOULD BE WANDERING OFF IN DREAMLAND, NOT WALKING TO FRICKING SCHOOL!_

Nishimura Misaki was not a morning person. She didn't particularly enjoy waking up at the crack of dawn, whether at home in her warm bed, or passed out on the cold asphalt while being crawled on by a cockroach. Much less trudging to meet what she considered as evil incarnate.

Now, evenings, she loved. She was much more awake during midnight than any other time in the day. Ever since she was a child, she had loved to go against her sister's rules and stay past her bedtime, watching the stars or her TV. It was a habit now, and she couldn't sleep a wink before twelve midnight.

Which meant, due to Hibari's unreasonable (to her, anyway) demand, she had only four hours of sleep. Knowing it was going to take her long to get ready for school, she had set her alarm to ring at three-fifteen, which she snoozed until three forty-five, wherein she jumped out of bed in a panicked state. It took her thirty minutes to even leave her doorstep, and the walk to school took about forty-five minutes.

Which meant, of course, that Misaki had every chance to be late and suffer the prefect's wrath. Well, at least she looked presentable.

_Ugh. My head hurts... But I have to look reliable on my first day on the job- wait, am I even earning money here? Great. Just great. _

**'Kokoro no denpa todoitemasu ka?**

** Tsumibitotachi no Heart Station**

** Kami-sama dake ga shitteiru**

** I miss you'**

Misaki was interrupted from her thoughts when her cellphone rang, otherwise disrupting the still silence in the air. Flipping it open, she kept walking briskly. It was Kusakabe.

"You have seven minutes, Nishimura-san! Please get here before five o' clock!"

Her eyes widened, and she checked her watch. "Shit, you're right!" shutting her phone, she finally broke into a run (which was slower than average, considering that she hated anything to do with sports), her chest heaving as she cut through the alleyways and finally arrived at the school's gates. Misaki burst through the doors, climbing the stairs as fast as she could.

"I'm here!" she slammed the Reception Room door open, looking positively tired. Her uniform had managed to wrinkle itself- no thanks to her running- and her hair was disheveled. Simply put, she looked like she had just gotten out of bed, a stark contrast to what she had looked like just five minutes ago.

Hibari raised an eyebrow at her appearance. He was already on his chair, looking through some documents. _Is he... wearing glasses? Oh my God. He looks positively harmless! Cute, even- wait, I did not just think that._

"You're early." he said, sounding disappointed. _What's he so disappointed about? Oh, wait, he just lost his excuse to bite me to death this early in the morning. As if he needs an excuse- but oh, I'm not complaining._

"Good morning to you too, Hibari-san." she said sarcastically as she walked over to his desk, and stopped in front of him, waiting for his directions.

Wordlessly, he lifted an overstuffed folder and slammed it in her face, not even sparing her a glance.

_The fuck?_

_

* * *

_

"Ano... Hibari?"

Silence.

The afternoon light streaked through the window, and Misaki looked at the clock. _I should be getting home. Just what the heck's Hibari doing so silently?_

The prefect was, Misaki assumed, lying down on the couch, so she couldn't rule out the fact that he was asleep. Then again, he may not be, seeing as he was most definitely a light sleeper (see: II-A Matsuda Satoshi Hospitalization). When she had entered the room a few minutes earlier, he was already on the couch, and she uttered a meek "Hello" before scrambling to get the notebook she had forgotten on her desk. She tried again, this time a little louder. "Hibari?"

"What?" he snapped, and she jumped, clearly not expecting him to respond. She thought he really **was** sleeping. Oh well.

"Ano... It's getting late. Aren't you going home?" she said, readjusting her bag strap on her shoulder in anticipation. _Where does he live, anyway?_

There was no response for a few seconds. Then, slowly, Hibari sat up, his eyes narrowed at her. "Mind your own business."

_Okay, never ever interrupt Hibari's sleep. I have to remember that._

"Meep!" she squeaked. "U-uhm, I'll be going, then! See you tomorrow, Hibari!" she exited the room in a hurry, feeling Hibari's watchful eyes on her as she did so. Not until Hibari had heard the soft click on the lock indicating that Misaki was out of the room did he lie down again, letting sleep take over him.

* * *

Misaki raced down the steps, her friends coming into view. "I told you guys not to wait for me!" she yelled out, getting the attention of the three.

Yamamoto waved, watching as the girl gasped for breath in front of him. "Yo, Misaki-chan!"

"Hey, Takeshi-chan!" she smiled lightly, finally regaining her oxygen. Gokudera was obviously not happy, smoking beside Tsuna.

"What took you so long, woman?" he scowled. Misaki wrinkled her nose at the cigarette smoke.

"Well someone's got a stick shoved up his ass today." she rolled her eyes, glomping Tsuna, who responded with a "meep!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, IDIOT?" Gokudera pried her off his beloved Juudaime, the little cancer stick falling to the ground.

"I'm just stating a fact, m'dear." she teased, and seeing Gokudera's expression, hid behind the much taller Yamamoto.

"Maa, maa!" Yamamoto interrupted. "You guys are getting loud." he laughed.

"Gokudera-kun, just forget about it. Let's go home, okay?" Tsuna pleaded, and Yamamoto started walking ahead, Misaki not that far from him. If worse came to worst, she'd be using him as a human shield from bombs.

Oh well. Gokudera followed Tsuna, having little to no interest in the one-sided conversation he was having with her about baseball.

* * *

It was like this for a whole week- Hibari (or Kusakabe, it varied) calling her to come at strange hours (the earliest being two o' clock, but she couldn't complain, could she?). Then, Misaki coming early by a minute of so, and getting a folder slammed in her face. After that, he would thankfully leave her alone, but would bonk her head with a tonfa when she would daydream.

Still, she wanted to be on... friendlier terms with her new boss. _Maybe getting on his good side will reduce the chances of me being masticated? Does he even have a good side?_

Day Eight. It was lunch break, and Misaki was working in the Reception Room, alone. Highlighting some paragraphs that would catch Hibari's interest and putting them into separate piles such as 'useless', 'worth looking at', and 'important' was more or less easy. She was just about finished when Kusakabe entered the room, his weird hair bobbing up and down a bit with his movement.

"Hey, Kusakabe-kun!" she waved cheerily, half-happy with the new company and half-happy that her work was done- for today, anyway. Misaki stood and stretched, her joints creaking with the new movement as she set the 'important' pile on Hibari's desk.

"Hello, Misaki-san." he greeted simply, and went to his own business.

Hibari entered the room, eyes narrowing at the sight of two people in his Reception Room. More or less crowding. Misaki was already flicking open her lighter, ready to set the 'useless' pile in flames. Or, more likely, the Reception Room itself. Why did she even have a lighter when she detested smoking? Pyromaniac.

"What are you doing, Herbivore?" he said immediately. She looked at him, before stowing away her lighter in her skirt. Her eyes were wide, like a deer caught in headlights.

"Uhm. Destroying the useless paperwork?" _that did not come out right. Oh God, he's going to kill me now._

He hit her head with a tonfa, and she winced. "Idiot."

"Ow..." she pouted, holding her head in pain. _This is the second time I've been hit like this! On the same spot, too! Is he doing this on purpose? Hold it in, hold it in, Misaki. You have to be on good terms with him. Right? Right._

Hibari scanned the room with irritation, before turning to leave.

"You okay, Misaki-san?" Kusakabe called, once Hibari was gone.

"Eh, I've had worse, Kusakabe-kun." she ignored her head throbbing and tossed him the 'useless' stack of paperwork. "Please throw this away for me."

Kusakabe nodded, and took the papers. He wondered why Misaki was putting up with Hibari- she even asked, no, begged, to be in the committee! He could not see an ulterior motive for Misaki's actions. No, wait, she was a tad bit too kind to plan something exponentially dangerous, anyway. So she couldn't possibly be planning to kill or overthrow the Committee President, right? Right.

Anyway, she was too unhealthy for that. Once Hibari finds out about some dark scheme involving him in some way, he would take that chance to chase her down and beat her up- and really, she wouldn't be able to run from him. And as far as Kusakabe could see, Misaki had **some** kind of self-preservation left in her. Maybe she was just the naïve schoolgirl who had nothing else to do. Yes, that seems more likely. But why plead to be a secretary? To Hibari Kyouya, no less?

As he pondered this, he registered Misaki pulling out something from underneath her desk. It was in a paper bag, and she stared at it before sighing. She scribbled on a post-it, and stood up, placing the paper bag on the Reception Room's coffee table. Sensing that Kusakabe was staring at her, she put a finger to her lips and "shh"-ed him, indicating that she didn't want him to say anything.

He blinked. Did she just...?

"Uhm, Kusakabe-kun?" Misaki spoke suddenly, and Kusakabe looked at her. "Can I go out?"

What kind of question was that? Of course she could, she wasn't being held here against her will! He nodded stiffly at her, and she beamed, her eyes gleaming.

"See you later, then!" she waved, before leaving the room. Of course, the paper bag was still on the table. Curious, Kusakabe neared it, a scrutinizing expression on his face. The paper bag was brown, nothing out of the ordinary. But the bright blue post-it she had scribbled on earlier contrasted the neutral color greatly, and her handwriting was flawless. He stared at the note before shaking his head.

Nope, no traces of evil in her. Just an innocent girl. Naïve, maybe, but with good intentions. Then again, Kusakabe could be wrong, and Misaki could be some kind of assassin sent to infiltrate the Committee. That's just in the movies, so it wasn't really possible.

But was this girl stupid? Apparently so.

_"hope you like melon bread, I baked it LOL. :3 oh, and I'll see you tomorrow." _

_

* * *

_

AN: There you go! :) Hibari's there, but barely. Sorry for the late update, though. My computer had to be replaced. Stupid virus! :| Goodbye, onemanga. We'll miss you. :'(

sharebearthedeathbear-san: I'm glad I leave you curious. :)) She just loves ice cream. :D Thank you for your review! :))

XxSunbunxX-san: HAHA, thank you! :D I'm happy you like it. :)

hyper. lolita426-san: I wasn't particularly sure if I should include swear words in here, but I thought it was funny, so there you go. :)) Thanks for the review!

SugarLandBabyGirl-san: squeee! Dino-lovers, unite! =))) Kidding aside, thank you! She has to cope with it, though. :))

Bittersweet Apathy-_chan_: Is "-chan" okay? :)) If not, then tell me. Okay, cousin love, then? :)) *gets shot* I'd still review it and fave it and everything, though. Okay, Dino doesn't like Misaki. As I've written earlier, Misaki asked him if it was okay to call him "nii-san" so that verifies their relationship- or lack therof. =)) Hibari doesn't care for her. YET.

DatAznKid-san: okay, bad mental image. :))) But yes, Dino's too nice. :D

music fans-san: IKR? :)) But she'll have to deal with it. :)) Thanks for the review! :D

Twii-chan: Okay, I'm putting in a -chan because I want to. :P You finally have a account again! *giggles* Yes ma'am! :))

colbub-san: *giggles* Thanks! I think I'm a pretty good writer mysel-*gets shot* okay I was lying. :)) Thanks for your review!

Namikaze Hatake-san: Yay! I went through all precautions to make sure she wasn't going to be a mary sue. *cringe* Thank you! :D

-Sapphire00Moonlight-san: We're all pottymouths, one way or another. :)) At least you can relate to her. :D

SpookyGroovy-san: I'm so happy to hear that. :D It was hard, but at least my attempts to step out of oocness paid off. :D I use too many cliches for my own good. :B Thanks for your review! :)

Reviews? *puppy eyes* :))


	11. Paranoia

"_I'm saying all the things that I know you'll like  
Making good conversation  
I gotta handle you just right  
You know what I mean __"_

Chapter Eleven- Paranoia

* * *

Nishimura Asuka was a stewardess. It suited her perfectly, since she was easy on the eyes and fluent with English. Being a stewardess meant she could provide well for her brother and sister, but made her devoid of a good social and love life. As such, Asuka became the doting mother her siblings never had, bearing their troubles just like what her mother would have done if she was alive. When she was in Japan, anyway.

To her brother, Ryuu, he could care less. More money meant more cash to buy video games, and maybe research some new martial arts he could learn. He wasn't particularly perturbed by his sister's long absences. And after a period of time, Misaki also learned to stop worrying about the stewardess.

If you asked Asuka, she would say it's no problem. _She'd make a good mother, after all. _Always looking after her siblings, forgetting her own well being at times as long as they were well fed and happy.

Due to her motherly instinct, she could sense when something is troubling her siblings. Most of the time they were little things, but once in a while it was something worth talking about. Like now, for example.

"Why do you keep on leaving before sunrise?" she had asked her sister. Misaki frowned.

"Uhm-"

"Are you involved in yakuza? Some kind of organization? You know how I feel about those, Misaki!" she continued on, and Misaki slapped her forehead in frustration.

"It's not that, Asuka-nee." she sighed, wringing her hands. _How did it come to this?_

Misaki had just come from school, laughing with Yamamoto as he walked with her. His house was a bit farther down the road- two blocks away- so he always walked her home after dropping by Tsuna's. As soon as he left her on the doorstep, promising to bring sushi the day after, Asuka had stepped out and pulled her inside. And here they were now.

Asuka gasped, her eyes widening. "It's a boy, isn't it? He isn't forcing you, is he? You can always say no, Misaki." at that, she took her younger sister's hands and squeezed firmly. "Do you know what a condom is? It's a-"

"Asuka-nee!" Misaki twitched, wrenching her hands away from her sister and scratching her head in frustration. "I'm not dating anyone! And I know what a condom is! Ryuu-ni already had this talk with me, and he even described the experience in painstakingly-clear details." she cringed. "I don't want to have to go through with this again." _Bad mental images-_

"But it's a boy, isn't it? You didn't deny it." Asuka frowned. "It still doesn't explain why you've been leaving so early."

"It's because-"

The doorbell rang. Ryuu walked calmly past them and opened it, seemingly unaffected by their loud conversation.

Seconds later, he turned to them, pizza box in hand. "Pizza?"

"Okay, this isn't right." Misaki pouted. She was in the Reception room, staring sadly at the half-eaten melon bread. "Maybe he didn't like it? I guess I'll have to try aga- oh, hello, Kusakabe-kun."

The teen nodded at her, which she returned with a disappointed smile. "What's wrong, Nishimura-san?"

"Oh, uhm.." she trailed off. "I gotta run. I'll see you later, Kusakabe-kun!" grabbing her things hastily, she left the bread where she saw it in the hopes that Hibari had just stepped out for a moment in the middle of eating, not that he didn't enjoy it. Misaki had just remembered_ an assignment! Oh crap, I still have to copy from someone!_

Nevermind the fact that copying from her classmate wasn't that big of a deal for her. As they say, you'll never be able to graduate school without cheating at least once. In her case, cheating a million times.

She bowed hurriedly and slammed the door behind her, her bangs flying in her face as she ran. Underclassmen bowed to her in fear. Seeing as she had the Committee arm band pinned to her sleeve, most of them were afraid of her now. Hibari had given it to her, albeit grudgingly, when she had complained that the staff of the school wouldn't let her in immediately at two AM, causing her to almost be late.

"What are you doing here at this time of night? Go home, girl." the janitor scowled at her, and she stuck out her tongue but ended up biting it by accident. Misaki glared at the man from the other side of the gate. _Ouch._

"I'm thupposed thu be at the Rethepthon Room right now. Let me in, pleathe!" she said, feeling the blood seep out of her wound.

"Yeah, well you need identification for that. The only people allowed here at this time is the Committee and some teachers. Shoo." he resumed to scraping bird droppings off the school gates, which was tightly shut. She stood there, trying to think of a good plan to sneak in, when Kusakabe walked out the school.

"Ku-kusakabe-kun! Thith guy won't let me in! If-" she stopped, feeling the blood seep out again, and then "If I'm late, I'm dead!"

"Masashi-san, she's an authorized student. The president called for her." he nodded, and put his hand on the janitor's shoulder to get his attention.

At the mention of president, the man stiffened up and practically pulled Misaki into school grounds.

* * *

"You know, Hibari, when I try to get in the school nowadays when you call me, I'm always stopped by staff. They say I don't have the authorization. Does this mean you won't call me at midnight anymore when you want me to come at two AM?" she had voiced out suggestively, rubbing her eyes a bit to wake herself up.

He looked at her, a dull shine in his eyes, "That's your problem."

Misaki pouted, looking out the window. The sun was just beginning to rise, and she was stuck there, filing papers. How many hours of sleep did she have last night? Two hours, or just one?

Yawning, she rubbed her eyes again. "Don't you think I'll be able to do more if I get here on time and not out of breath?"

"Your point?" he deadpanned. Hibari watched her, waiting for an outburst or some sort. He coughed, and she was about to stand up to see what was wrong, but stopped.

No, she was too sleepy for this. "My point is I need solid proof that I have authorization because sneaking into the school grounds is just going to tire me out." she added thoughtfully, "I'd need about fifteen minutes before I can work properly. That is, if I'm not late and you don't throw something at my face-"

Sighing as if the discussion was pointless, he opened his drawer and tossed a bundle of cloth at her table. She blinked slowly.

"A Discipline Committee armband?"

"Wear it when you need to go in. I don't just randomly select people to have those armbands." he said monotonously. "If you lose it you'll buy another one, triple the cost."

"Ah, what?"

* * *

'_A sum of 200000 yen is invested partly at 10% and the remainder at 8%. Find the amount invested at each rate if the yearly income of the two investments is 18400 yen.'_

Misaki rubbed her eyes. She didn't recall this type of problem being taught to her before. Or was she asleep then? Either way, this would be one of her failed tests, she knew it.

Sighing, she massaged her temples. Her headache was killing her. It's been three weeks since Hibari had started randomly calling on her at early hours to work, but she couldn't complain.

In the Reception Room, Hibari sneezed in his sleep.

"Pass your papers."

Misaki snapped awake, wiping drool from her cheek. All she had written the in paper was her name, and it wasn't even legible. She passed it forward,feeling a strange wetness gush from her nose and tried to stand. The room spun in her vision, and she fainted.

* * *

_**It was him again.**_

_** It was another scene in the past, one of her happiest memories. She watched, detached from the scene below her.**_

_** He was buying her ice cream, and smeared some on her nose. She ran after him playfully, forgetting about her slowly-healing wounds. This time, she could hear their words.**_

_** "You can't catch me, Misa-chan!" Touya stuck out his tongue playfully, and ran away.**_

_** She wiped her cheek clean and chased him, giggling all the way. He always did make her forget her pain, in that childish way of his. It was like he took all her burdens and made them disappear, if only for a short while.**_

_** Then, of course, he added to them when he died.**_

_** Suddenly, the scene shifted, and she was at the intersection once more, watching in horror as Touya died in front of her over and over.**_

_**

* * *

**_

She blinked slowly, her eyes blurry as she woke up. The first thing she saw was the ceiling- plain white with lightbulbs. Struggling to sit up, she realized she was in the hospital ward, and that there was a needle stuck to her arm.

_Wait, needle?_

She blinked again. _There's a needle inside my skin. There's a needle inside my-_

"You're awake?" a nurse entered the room, smiling as she set a tray of medicine at her bedside table.

"What happened?" she asked, her throat parched and aching. Seeing a glass of water by the table, she reached for it, but was startled by the nurse.

"You don't want to drink that if you plan to stay conscious, dear." With nimble hands, she transferred the fluids into a small injection and proceeded to push it slowly, letting the air out of the needle.

"What happened?" she asked again, her memories vague and unhelpful. She remembered drooling on her paper, waking up slowly to put her name in, and sleeping again. Was it because she was sleeping so much that they had to send her to a hospital? That didn't explain the IV, though. Or maybe some kid had punched her and sent her sprawling to the ground, making her bleed? It explained why she felt that metallic taste in her mouth well and probably the killer headache she had now.

"You fainted, and had a nosebleed. The teacher rushed you here. Now, we've tested your blood and it seems like you have iron deficiency, and obviously, lack of sleep, but other than that, it's fine. Iron deficiency is norm-"

_Nosebleed? Lack of sleep? Iron deficiency? Fainted? Of course. Of course! This is what happens when I abuse my body! Ugh, I don't think this'll be enough of an excuse to miss Hibari's appointments. _

"I'm sorry, can I be alone for a minute? I just need some time to think. Thank you for your help!" she smiled as the nurse bowed kindly and shuffled out of the ward.

She lay back down with a thump. From her point of view, the ward was empty, except for the bed next to her that had a strangely familiar smell. The curtains were drawn, though, so she couldn't figure out who the person was.

"Oh no, I don't think Hibari will like this..."

"Like what?" suddenly, the curtains were opened, and Misaki stifled a shriek of horror. There, with his elegant eyebrow raised, was Hibari Kyouya, her source of fear at the moment.

"Oh my- Hibari? What the f- are you doing here!" she inched away, as much as she could and pointed her finger at him.

"I have a cold." he replied nonchalantly. "I see you're ill as well."

In Misaki's head, some kind of evil theme song was playing. Why did Hibari always appear at the most random times?

"Yeah. Uhm, apparently I fainted because of lack of sleep." one look from him made her shut her mouth. Who was she kidding? If she blamed him, she would get tonfa'd and would most likely stay in the hospital longer. Already the white walls were nauseating Misaki. "So, we're uh, ward buddies now? What are the chances of that, huh?"

He remained silent.

_Awkward. Screw this hospital I hope all your patients go sick and die-_

"I asked for you to be in my ward."

Misaki halted. _What did he just...?_

"As with this other herbivore you're apparently close with."

"I'm sorry, what?" he turned a bit, as if not wishing to talk more. Right on cue, a familiar boy was wheeled in the room, and waved timidly to Misaki.

"Tsu-chan!"

* * *

AN: I'm sorry the update is late *gets shot* and that it probably sucks, but some unforeseen circumstances had prevented me from updating *cough*parents and exams*cough*. But here's chapter 11, which I will probably revise later. :P Much, much later, as I am still grounded.

hyper. lolita426-san: thank you for the support! :)

XxSunbunxX-san: Haha, thank you :DD *dances*

Rya-chan X Shii-chan: you're fainting comment actually gave me an idea *laughs* thanks for the review! :)

Kai-san: :DDD thanks for the review!

The Rudiment Goldbrick-san: thank you! *giggles* but that's a secret XD

sharebearthedeathbear-san: It's Hibari XD he doesn't need a reason *laughs* I wanted to do something different, so Kusakabe's POV fit in there. XD

music fans-san: HAHA, it was for Hibari, of course :D thank you for reviewing!

DatAznKid-san: *laughs* he's too scrawny for that, but... *whistles innocently* XD

Kouyan-san: HAHA, thank you! It means a lot. XD

GaarasMyBoyzz-san: really? I write Hibari funny? XD I'm worse than I thought XD

ita-chan01: Yay, thanks! XD

Leeeveeee-san: how enthusiastic XD we're both grounded, then, dear. XD

Pooh-san: meh, sometimes stuff like that happens XD IT EXISTS, I think XD be patient, okay? :)))

Twii-chan: a lot of people can relate *cough*my brother*cough* HAHA. Now that you mention it... YES, WOW. UHM. That's a lot of reviews XD I'm so happy. :)))

SugarLandBabyGirl-san: *laughs* I'm glad you liked it XD The note was just an afterthought, both with Misaki and myself, but it did the trick XD thank you for reviewing! XD

So, as Twii-chan had said, I've gotten a lot of reviews in ten chapters. Want to make my day? :3 Please review! XD


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